The Khathlati Strain
by Onionbreath002
Summary: Epilogue.
1. Prologue: Escaped

Charlie: Yar…I've been basically flooded with work lately…I'm definitely not in a very…comical mood if you guys are wondering why I'm not updating my comedy fics. I'm trying…but all the stuff comes out basically bad. It's just not funny. So I'm gonna take a short break from those…because frankly…I can't right humor right now since I'm up to my ears in work and tests. On the other hand, I've been reading a lot of Micheal Crichton lately…and well, I've been getting kinda sick of romanticized Medieval stories…where innocent people are never hurt and everything turns out all right yaddayaddayadda. So I'm writing a basically a sci fi story kinda like Prey or Andromeda Strain if you guys ever read it. I'm only gonna explain the setting once…so pay attention

This story is basically set a few years in the future from FE7. Because I never played the game, FE6 basically never happened (So Zephiel doesn't go berserk and Hector is alive). The time has progressed and basic rudimentary technology is appearing in Elibe. Basically, the FE era has progressed to the era of the Scientific Revolution and such. People still don't know as much obviously…but they have like basic gunpowder, and basic knowledge of molecular biology and chemistry. But all in all, it's just FE…with more explosives than just the mine and more knowledge of the composition of the world…but not much more.

Anyways, wrapping up my droning. This isn't your fuzzy everything is all nice and fluffy fic. If you don't like death and basically…reality, where like if you don't know about something…it's not your fault…because this fic is based on humanity and human error causing tragedy, then don't go on. Well, anyways… enjoy. I'll see if I can TRY to crank out a comedy chapter here and there, but yeah, for now, have fun with the dark side of my writing.

* * *

_**The Khathlati Strain**_

Prologue: Escaped

The Khathlati Biomedical Institute, one of the many scientific buildings erected in the past decade or so gleamed in the afternoon sunlight of southern Lycia. For over ten years, the threat of Nergal and the Dragons have been vanished. Left with vast amounts of resources and a era of peace and tranquility, Lycia began to study themselves, their environment, their way of life.

As a result, the Scientific Revolution took the nation by storm. Modifications to mines used in the Nergal War spawned stronger explosives, gunpowder, cannons and muskets. Chemical and Biological scholars now believe that the world was composed of infinitely smaller compounds. The existance of micro-organisms has been confirmed. Lycia soon became a technological superpower…far more advanced than her bordering countries.

However, with technology comes consequences. During this time, humans, scientists, have lost bearing of their limitations. We humans believed we were invincible. And frankly…we couldn't be more wrong.

Molecular Biology in Elibe was flourishing. Ever since applying eye pieces to more powerful devices, the basic microscope confirmed to Lycian Scientists that the world is indeed composed of smaller particles. Numerous particle theories now float around, yet it is all theory. Only until recent years have scientists developed any possible practical implications of this new technology.

Only last year, the Khathlati Biomedical Institute(KBI) has managed to isolate strains of micro-organisms scientists named "bacterium". Though initially worried about an infectuous disease that could come from these organisms, cultures of these micro-organisms were found to be rather benign to living creatures. Eventually, further study of these micro-organisms determined that they could be possibly applied to practical use in a form of fertilizer. Charged with developing a strain of this Khathlati Bacterium as it became known as, a group of scientists at the KBI worked with the strain, continuously developing it, introducing it into new climates in hopes of inducing it to adapt and evolve.

For one entire year, the team worked with the Khathlati Strain, and yet still no results are produced.

Until now…

Just last month, one researcher at the KBI discovered a strain of bacterium that developed a system to coexist symbiotically with high starch plants such as potatoes and yams. This bacterium consumed starch and other carbohydrates in the plants to reproduce, yet it produced a natural fertalizer in the process. The host plant dies, but the chemicals are released once decay sets in. Then, because the bacterium will have died out due to a lack of a host, new plants can grow in, and grow much better due to the fertilizer released by their predecessor.

It was a magical breakthrough… another win for scientists against the followers of Elimine who condemn Molecular Biologists for playing God. Another miracle of science to benefit mankind…

Or so we thought…

Three weeks later, while testing the bacterium infected plants on laboratory animals, strange behavior was observed in the animals eating the infected plants.

A few days…the animals died, all in the same manner. They had been literally starved to death. Their bodies had eaten away all body fat, and was in the process of consuming protein… most notably, the heart.

Researchers, puzzled by these curious deaths, believed that it was the lack of nutrition in the plants that caused it. So they ignored the deaths as mere experimental errors. Yet days later, the control group eating normal food also displayed signs of starvation. Days later, all laboratory animals had died.

The scientists then realized the truth…it wasn't the plants…it was the bacterium, and it was lethal.

Luckily, during the 6 week control study, no researchers came in contact with the infected animals. The Khathelet Royal Family ordered all research abandoned on the project and all specimens incinerated. After days of purging, the plague was gone…the bacterium was destroyed…nothing was left.

Three weeks later… Khathlati citizens displayed symptoms of starvation…

Six weeks after… Khathlati citizens began to die…

It was a slow process, painful…

Their bodies had eaten itself… consumed itself in need of energy.

In short… someone had blundered.

The Khathlati Strain… had escaped…

* * *

Charlie: Well, that was something new. I know a lot of this technology talk is probably confusing…yeah, it's supposed to be. I'll try my best to explain stuff, but I believe everyone here is smart enough to know "bacterium" and "carbohydrates" and "starch". Well, here you go. I know the prologue is kinda confusing…it's supposed to be.

Anyways, please review. I'm not usually anal about not getting reviews…but I wanna know how you people feel about this…and remember…nothing stupid (Like our good buddy X) or else you know what's gonna happen.


	2. Apathy to Terror

Charlie: …umm, not much to say here…just keep reading.

Erk: You're forgetting something.

Charlie: OH RIGHT… yeah, people die in this fic. I kill off some of my favorite characters too…so yeah… sorry if this upsets you, but I don't want flames reading "OHNOES YOU KILLED HIM/HER! I WILL KILLS YOU NOW BECAUSE HE/SHE WAS THE AWESOMEST!" You send me that…and I'll just ignore you…or mock you…or mock you then ignore you. Anyways, enjoy the second chapter. I don't own FE…remember that..don't sue me.

* * *

**_The Khathlati Strain_**

Chapter 1: Apathy to Terror

Word of the Khathlati Strain spread slowly. General interest in the disease was rather subdued. In short, very few Lycians cared, and the ones who did expressed concern over the spread of the disease rather than the welfare of the Khathlatis. Despite pleas for medicine and healers, many provinces turned a blind eye towards the plight of the plague struck town. The ones who responded did so slowly, reluctantly.

Khathelet has always been seen as the oddball of the Lycian League since the start of the Scientific Revolution, which stands to reason. Though all of Lycia had devloped scientifically… all the other provinces made findings and entered fields that did not interfere with the teaching of St. Elimine. Religion riddled theories and findings. Though this provided quite a few errors in science, people were happy. Progress with religion, everybody wins!.

Khathelet however, had other ideas. Ever since entering the field of biology, the city was shunned by the religious clerics and monks of the Eliminian Faith. Khathelet was cast out as the bad apple of the league. The rebel town, a maverick… the city was branded as the city of heretics. Basically, it was a scientist's Mecca.

Religious regulations on research was very loose in Khathelet. People no longer accepted St. Elimine's teaching. Creation theory was invalid…everything was invalid. People began searching for definite answers to definite questions that were previously answered with indifinite answers. Khathelet was disobeying God. In a sense, Khathelet was becoming God.

Thus many people of Lycia saw Khathelet's plague as punishment from St. Elimine and the Almighty for their heresy. The other Lycians showed little sympathy…thinking that the plague was just Khathelet's fault. A plague sent by god to wipe out the defiled.

Then… it happened, and the real story…the real struggle to save humanity... began.

* * *

The Khathlati Minister of Science was not happy. He glared at the group of people assembled before him. With each breath he took, his anger grew. 

"…Where…the hell are the papers!" He said in a dangerously quiet tone. He knew he had to be discrete.

The Minister was in a meeting chamber with representatives of the Khathlati Biomedical Institue, where the original bacterium had been created. On his desk was a mess of papers, work records, purge records, payrolls. But apperently the piece of paper the minister wanted was not on there.

"Sir…" One of the scientists squeaked. "That's everything we have. It's all there."

The ministered turned towards the unfortunate soul. "You know DAMN well that this CRAP is not complete!" he roared, losing his patience. "The HELL happened! NONE OF THE DATA MATCHES!"

The scientists shuddered at the anger of the minister, but they knew he was rightfully angered. The Khathlati strain had ravaged the city for three months now, and yet no records of how it could've gotten out surfaced. Now, even the information of the original research team was incomplete and missing. Things were getting out of control.

The Minister of Science glared out at the mass of scientists. "I don't know what you're trying to pull here, but if you haven't noticed…PEOPLE are DYING here of something your institution apperently CREATED. Now if you haven't already noticed yet, the followers of St. Elimine were already on our backs…if this gets out, we're toast. You got it! I want a corrected set of information and I want it ASAP! NOW GET OUT!"

The scientists didn't need more encouraging. They scampered out as quickly as they can, most with the intention of leaving the plague ridden city.

After everyone bolted, the Minister sat down behind his desk, rubbing his eyes tiredly. He looked down at the mismatched information….none of it made sense to him.

'What the hell are they trying to pull?'

He had in front of him two sets of information. One set for purge information on the bacterium that was ordered by the Marquess, the other was a research profile outlining purpose and members of the research team. That's where things got confusing.

According to the purge data, 40 canisters were incinerated accounting for 100 percent of all existing cultures. However, the research data insisted only 30 canisters were ever created. To make matters worse, the research profiles were sloppy and disorganized. It didn't match payroll information. The research profiles had three members listed

Research Team Members – Field of Study  
Dr. Christopher J. Liang – Microbiologist  
Dr. Jessica H. Nam – Ecologist  
Dr. Patric Pan – Ecologist

However the payroll information regarding the Khathlati Bacterium had an extra name…  
Dr. Tarlon C. Woo – Biochemist/Geneticist

Not only did the extra name confuse the minister, but the field of study of this extra name was odd. The Minister did not recall anything in the experiment requiring the need of a biochemist or a geneticist. In fact, both fields were completely new to Elibe. The information avaliable to either fields were so limited that it was basically obsolete. And hell, he did not even recall this particular doctor working at the KBI Research Department.

The minister sank into his chair. The information was corrupted…someone had got to one or the other. In his heart, the minister hoped someone had added a name to the payroll…but in his mind there was no doubt someone erased the records of Dr. Woo's involvement in the Bacterium Project. Somehow, things were becoming clearer to him… if his assumptions were correct…someone screwed up, and accidentally released the bacterium into the environment, and was not trying to cover up his or her tracks… or at least he hoped it was accidental.

While he was deep in thought, a secretary entered his room.

"Sir?"

He looked up. "What is it?"

"The administrators at the Biomedical Institution sent an updated payroll check." She said coming in with another stack of papers. "They claim that this was complete and that no errors were possible."

The minister nearly choked when he heard that. "Hah…that'll be the day." he scoffed.

The secretary placed the new records on his desk and left the room, closing the door behind her quietly.

The minister wondered if the record was even worth looking at, but he decided that he had to. He hated his job sometimes. Pulling the sheet towards the light, he flipped through the sheet. Looking down he found the research team section. He looked and sighed. Dr. Wu was not on this rollsheet. The minister felt as if a weight was lifted. There was no fourth man on the research team. He laughed at his own paranoia. There was no cover up. Just some stupid kid playing around with the payroll. Now he just had to deal with a disease rather than a madman. Then, as he flipped through the rollsheet, he saw something that made his heart stop. At the end of the sheet, was the name:  
Dr. Tarlon C. Woo – Physicist/**Research Consultant**  
**Current Research Project: Bacterium Agriculture Integration.**

This time, he was a physicist. The minister's joy evaporated. Not only that, this man was the consultant for the Bacterium Project. Once again he was thrown into a quandary. This time, he had no choice. After a while, the minister pulled out records of the renegade doctor from the ministry files. The records were clear this time. The minister memorized the scientist's adress, and sent for the militia.

Miles away, a caravan set off for Ostia…

* * *

That night, the citizens of Northern Khathelet were disturbed. However, instead of another death, the culprit of this disquieting event was the Khathelet Militia. The disturbance happened quickly though. Militiamen stormed the house of a prominent physicist with muskets. At midnight, a terrified scientist was dragged out of his house. 

The next morning…Dr. Tarlon C. Woo, Junior Physicist of the Khathelet Biomedical Institution was convicted with obstruction of justice and the creation and release of a disease that could bring about the end of humanity.

He was executed that afternoon.

* * *

Two days later, a report reached Lord Hector of Ostia._Lord Raymond of House Cornwall was reported dead in Araphen. His body showed signs of malnutricion. Upon further diagnosis, his body seemed to have decomposed itself. Final Diagnosis, Lord Raymond had died of a unusually rapid state of starvation. Because of recent fears of the Khathlati Bacterium, his body has been cremented and his personal effects burned. All persons who had come in contact with his body is now under quarantine. Because of fast action, no infections are expected._

Hector read the report. Then he looked up at the people present in his court.

"…St. Elimine help us all…" he prayed. "The bloody disease is spreading."

* * *

Charlie: Yep…so what's gonna happen next? Well, I guess you'll have to wait and find out eh? Again, pls leave a review. I know these chapters are a bit short…but I don't want to like kill you with too much stuff right now. It'll probably get longer later. 


	3. Conspiracy

Charlie: Well, I'm back. Meh, placed 4th at Progfest…oh well. It was pretty good for first timers and we're definitely taking first next year. Anyways. Thanks to all you who reviewed. I'm glad you're enjoying this. Well…enough talk. On with the next chapter. And I don't own Fire Emblem yaddayaddayadda…you know the drill.

* * *

_**The Khathlati Strain**_

Chapter 3: Conspiracy

Hector and Matthew left the conference together. Neither the usually cheerful thief nor the big Marquess was very happy.

"Damn it!" Hector said in frustration. "What the hell is going on in Khathelet!"

Matthew simply shrugged and continued walking. "One thing's for sure. This disease seems very suspicious."

"What?" Hector asked. "Suspicious? I thought it was an accident or something."

Matthew sighed and looked over at his Marquess. "Yes, it seemed like an accident…but I'm not so sure anymore."

"Say what?" Hector was confused.

"Look at it this way. Two months back, Bern sent messengers asking you to give them our latest technology or face the consequences because they felt that Lycia was becoming too powerful."

"Yes? And?" Hector asked, not quite comprehending.

"Well, think about it. A few weeks after you refused, the disease sprang up."

Hector realized what Matthew was implying. "Are you saying that Bern is behind this?"

"Well, it's very possible. If they were to attack, they would attack the Southern port cities. That gives them a sea route into Lycia so they wouldn't have to cross the mountains. And plus the Northern provinces all specialize in ballistics, no leader worth his name would send his forces through there. It's a self sustaining death trap up there."

"Point taken." Hector said. "Is it possible?"

"It's very likely." Matthew said. "But again, we're not sure."

"Okay, then we'll make sure." Hector said firmly. "I want you to go take tabs of the doctors who were in charge of this Bacterium Experiment that Khathelet claims to be responsible for this disease. If any one of them seems remotely connected to Bern, arrest him. We'll deal with war then."

Matthew saluted briefly. "Yes sir…"

Then he vanished into the shadows to do his bidding. Hector took a good look at where Matthew was and turned back. "Good Luck buddy…" He mumbled as he walked through a doorway into the throne room.

* * *

Matthew winced as he stepped into the sunlight. The bright morning sun was stinging his eyes. Pulling his cloak over his head to block the powerful rays, the thief picked out a horse from the stables. After checking his supplies, Matthew rode out of town, taking a Southern road, the once bustling road into the biological capital of Elibe, now as deserted as Dread Isle. Only a lone caravan of merchants was on the road. As Matthew rode past them, he noticed a poorly dressed, ragged man sitting in the back of one of the wagons with his bare, unshaven legs sticking out the back. His dress made him stick out from the well dressed merchants around him.

'Stowaway…' Matthew thought before riding full speed due South, towards the origin of the disease that is now known as the Khathlati Strain.

* * *

A lone man with long blonde hair walked out of the Araphen Morgue. He was dressed in the attire of a Bishop of St. Elimine. As he walked along the streets, clutching a bag of items, silent tears streaked down his cheeks. He had just collected the personal effects of his dearest friend who had died days earlier of a disease created by the enemies of St. Elimine, but he could not accept why such a fate had befallen his friend, who is by no means anything like the sinful creatures from Khathelet.

He cried silently as he walked the streets, before stopping in front of an orphanage. Quickly, he dried his tears and walked in.

"Welcome back Father Lucius!"

Scores of children greeted the Bishop with great enthusiasm. Lucius could do nothing but smile at the wave of innocent youth welcoming him back home. He sighed.

"Okay Children, back to your work. I have a few things to take care of." He said with a forced smile.

When the Children finally scattered and went about their work. Lucius made his way across the room towards his office. He sniffled a little, and coughed a few times.

'I must've caught the cold.' He thought, making a mental note to take some medicine later. He placed the bag gingerly into a safety box and locked it. He sighed and sank back into his chair, thinking of all the times he and Raven had spent traveling together. He let out a huge sneeze and decided to go take some medicine. When he got up to go get his medication, he noticed that he had lost weight and his muscles were starting to ache.

Lucius sighed. 'I must take better care of myself…' He said as he swallowed an spoonful of a foul smelling potion.

* * *

Matthew arrived in Khathelet a few days after he departed. He noticed that the streets were more deserted than they usually were. Sighing, he checked into an Inn for the night.

The next day, he approached the Minister of Science for help.

"The doctor's addresses you say?" The Minister asked after Matthew stated his intention. "Well, sure. But I feel that we have already caught the culprit, so there is no need for Ostia to intervene…but if you feel that you must…then be my guest."

Matthew nodded. "Just give me the records…"

The Minister got up and went over to his files. A while later, he returned with four sets of papers.

"Here." The Minister said, giving Matthew the records. "You want these three doctors." He said pointing to the top three sets. "The last doctor is dead."

"The disease?" Matthew asked.

"No, executed. We deduced that he was the culprit."

Matthew arched an eyebrow. "Really…and how do you figure that?"

The Minister proceeded to show Matthew the evidence one by one. "And that's how we know…" He said finishing.

Matthew listened thoughtfully. "Okay, so you're saying that there was no way he could possibly be framed?"

"Well, that's possible, but not likely."

Matthew held back his disbelief. How could a Minister of Science be so stupid? Matthew took the records and pointed to a name near the executed Scientist's name. "What about him? You said that someone was named as a Geneticist/Biochemist on the research records. Well, he's the only Geneticist/Biochemist on your squad."

The Ministered answered in an all knowing tone. "Yes, we've considered him, but then we discovered that he had resigned from the Institute well before the disease was present in the population. He couldn't have possibly done it."

"How long before did he resign?" Matthew asked.

"Umm, about 4-5 weeks. Why?"

"No reason, just checking." Matthew said. "Thank you Minister."

The Minister bid him good day and Matthew left the building. Under his arms, he held the three records of the living scientists, as well as one other record he had stolen on his way out.

"Hmm…" He thought out loud as he looked at the stolen record. "Dr. Brian W Wu… well it couldn't hurt to check."

Then he turned right at a smaller road and entered the residential areas. The first house he checked was the house of Dr. Wu. Not surprising, the house was empty and the furniture missing. The man had moved. Only a picture of him and his family remained hanging on the wall. Matthew took one look at him and sighed. He was a young man, tall with dark hair. He had a nice family and did not look anything like a madman who would release a dangerous disease. Sighing again, Matthew left the house, never noticing the crumpled piece of paper wedged in the doorway.

Three days later, the piece of paper was gone, along with the picture on the wall.

* * *

After three days and two dismal interviews with Dr. Liang and Dr. Pan, Matthew had yet to uncover any clues about the outbreak of the disease. Both men had seemed uneasy however, when Matthew brought up the executed Dr. Woo. Both had given half-assed answers about Dr. Woo's sanity before changing the subject. As expected, both men said that they didn't know a Dr. Brian Wu. When confronted about the possibility of a mistake, both men had denied, in a creepily similar manner. If Matthew ever doubted the possibility of a conspiracy, he no longer doubted it anymore. But still, all he had was circumstantial evidence.

But he still had hope. There was one scientist left on the list. Matthew just hoped that she would shed some light on the mystery. Little did he know, what lies beyond the front door of the last doctor would expose more than he cared to know.

A week later, Oswin delivered Matthew's report…

* * *

"Sir… Matthew reports that there definitely is a conspiracy."

Oswin and Hector were in the throne room of Castle Ostia. Both men were anxious to know what Matthew had to report, and unfortunately for Hector, Oswin had gotten to the messenger first. So he sat there unpatiently waiting for Oswin to read out the report

"Well, ain't that grand." Hector said. "Care to clarify?"

"Well, two of the scientists seemed evasive of his questions. They denied involvement with the release." Oswin continued.

"And?"

"Well, apparently Khathelet had executed a doctor weeks earlier."

"Yes, I got the report last night."

"Right, well, the same two scientists claimed that the executed scientist was going insane."

"That makes sense. But what about the third scientist? Did he interview her?"

Oswin read on and shook his head. "No…she was dead when he got to her house."

Hector cursed. "That's just great. Let me guess, the disease?"

Oswin turned white as he read the cause of death.

"Well?" Hector asked impatiently.

"No…" Oswin said. "She was murdered."

"WHAT!"

"That's why Matthew thinks that there's a conspiracy that's still alive. Dr. Jessica Nam was found dead with 29 fresh stab wounds in her back… nearly a week after the supposed culprit was executed."

Hector too went pale at this news. "…could…it be possible that she was murdered before the doctor was killed?"

Oswin read on. "No, Matthew said that the wounds were still bleeding when he entered. Dr. Nam was killed just minutes before Matthew arrived. And also, he checked her journal and work logs. She was alive up until the hour before Matthew found her."

Hector sighed. "…good grief…"

"And another thing…" Oswin went on. "Her journal entries after the disease surfaced were just as suspicious as the answers of the previous two doctors. She seemed to be hiding something…something dark."

Hector shook his head. "This is getting complicated."

"It gets worse sir." Oswin said.

"What?"

"Khathelet's records of where the three doctors worked before going to the Khathlati Biomedical Institute are very faulty, and Matthew claims it's very unreliable."

"Holy St. Elimine!" Hector roared. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON DOWN THERE!"

"And sir?"

"More good news?"

"Yes… Bern has been gathering forces along the Southern border. Araphen claims that the troops from Bern are within striking distance, and if they do strike, Araphen, Khathelet and possibly Caelin would definitely fall."

Hector paled greatly at this last piece of news. "What did we ever do to deserve this!"

* * *

Charlie: Well, doesn't it get better all the time? I really don't want to be Matthew right now. He's walking in a death hole. Anyways, please review! 


	4. Inhumanity

Charlie: Hello, I'mma back. Yes, 'tis me, the killer. Okay, one more note on the deaths, a LOT, and I mean a LOT of people will die, some characters whom you may not like, others who you may worship. Let me just tell you know, that some deaths were necessary, while a few were just simple casualties in my planning. Yes, everyone who dies in my fic had to die in order for the events in this thing to make sense. (Because I'm not letting any of the characters break the laws of physics, chemistry or biology other than using magic). Well, now that that's cleared…I want to warn you that this chapter, chapter three, is THE most brutal chapter of this series as of now. Lots of things happen, lots of BAD things happen. If you get queasy easy at the mention of "dead bodies," then well…sorry.

Erk: And he doesn't own FE.

* * *

_**The Kathlati Strain**_

Chapter 3: Inhumanity

Matthew returned to Ostia a few days after his report. Other than the death of one of the scientists, he could find no more evidence. Dismayed, he rode back with his incomplete material, hoping that the other members of Hector's court could sort out this mess better than he can.

To him, solving mysteries were his life, but this is one heck of a mystery that he'd prefer never happened. As he rode out of Khathelet, he found crop fields burning in the countryside. Matthew shook his head. If this kept up, the people would starve. The rest of Elibe were already reluctant to send supplies, now with a possible conspiracy going on, they'd be completely unwilling. Matthew knew that if this matter wasn't cleared up, the people of Khathelet and possibly Araphen would starve to death.

He smiled morbidly at the irony and rode off towards Ostia, noticing that a caravan of merchants were headed Northeast towards Caelin and Pherae with a load of meat.

Castle Ostia was in complete turmoil when Matthew arrived. Hector, Oswin and Serra were in a heated debate over lord knows what. All the attendants and ambassadors were nervously standing outside the Marquess's private conference room, wondering what the noise was all about. Matthew was tired from his trip, but this seemed too important to ignore. He took a deep breath and entered the conference room, hoping that he wouldn't invoke the anger of his not-quite-so-young-anymore master.

The scene inside was quite interesting. Hector, Oswin and Serra were standing up over the tables and yelling full blast at whomever the heck was in front of them. Matthew sighed and quietly entered the room. The three combatants were too busy arguing to notice him. Another person however did. She quietly walked over the the thief and greeted him.

"We-welcome back Matthew." She stuttered.

Matthew smiled at the woman. "Hey Florina…how long has it been?" He asked gesturing towards the argument.

Florina sighed and shook her head. "A very long time…" She replied softly.

Just then, somebody noticed Matthew, and the arguing died down.

"You're back." Hector said. "Well? What's new?"

Matthew left Florina and took his usual seat. The others sat down too, though obvious still tense.

"Okay, there's nothing new…other than the fact that the scientists at the KBI fear mutations."

"Eh?" Hector asked. Mutations were a very new concept. It lied in the field of study for Geneticists and Biochemists. Not a lot of people knew about it.

"Yes, according to the Biochemistry department at the institute, they're scared that the bacterium may evolve into a new form. As of now, there are only two known ways of transmission, carbohydrate products and infected body fluid. They fear that it may evolve and be transmitted another way."

"Jesus…" Hector said. Oswin and Serra remained silent, though they were listening intently. Matthew knew all the science was over their heads. It was over his head. Until recently, he never even considered the possibility of organisms changing and mutating through information researchers believe contain the coding for life…but now, he was fascinated by the influx of information.

"Yeah, and the next thing they fear is what the bacterium attacks would change as well."

"Huh?" Serra piped up. She was a cleric, so she understood illnesses, but she never knew illnesses could change, nobody did.

"Well, right now, the cause of death is mainly a rapid state of starvation. The bacteria consumes any and all carbohydrate products inside the body and reproduces to a enormous population…then as the body starts breaking down itself, the bacteria consumes the carbohydrates formed by the breakdown of protein and fat. Eventually, the body kills itself, trying to stay alive."

Hector, Serra and Oswin took a minute to digest this information. They never knew that the body could kill itself.

"Wait…" Hector said. "Did you say this bacterium was contagious?"

"Yes…" Matthew replied. "But as of now, not very…as long as you don't exchange body fluids or eat crops from down south, your fine…"

The others relaxed slightly. It was a while before anyone spoke.

"Matthew, I think it's time we let you in on what we were arguing about."

Many miles away, Caelin hospitals report several cases of what seems to be early stages of malnutrition in the general population.

* * *

Araphen Militia surrounded a local orphanage as a special biohazard team in protective clothing entered. All around them, they saw emaciated children lying in beds. Quite a few were already on the verge of death. A few members of the team lost their nerves and sank to their knees, crying. The rest were traumatized in other ways. 

Twenty seven orphans at this orphanage. Merely two weeks ago, they had been perfectly healthy. Everyone was happy, bouncy. Then last week, the caretaker fell ill to malnutrition. The nurses at the orphanage knew what was coming next. They isolated the caretaker from the children in hopes of preventing the disease from spreading. Alas, days later, everyone fell ill. The biohazard team stepped into the deeper chambers.

At the last room, they found the caretaker. He was a bishop of St. Elimine who had fought against Nergal decades ago. People couldn't understand why he fell to this disease, but then there were many unanswered mysteries to the disease. The team members shuddered when the found him lying on his bed. His body was merely a layer of pale sickly skin covering his emaciated body. His previously lush blonde hair lay around him in thin sickly clumps. The man was near death.

The leader of the biohazard team walked up to him. Lucius looked up at the stranger in the strange suit and weakly pointed to a safety box. The biohazard team looked at the safe box confusedly. Lucius pointed more urgently, his mouth forming incoherent words. The team leader looked at the safety box and at the man pointing. Then something clicked.

"Do you want me to…open it?"

Lucius smiled and nodded before lying back down peacefully on the bed. He closed his eyes, waiting for what was sure to happen. The biohazard team walked cautiously up to the safety box. Unsure of how to open it, the leader produced a simple lockpick and went to work. Minute later something clicked and the box opened effortlessly. What was inside shocked the biohazard team more than anything. Looking back at the orphanage caretaker, they saw him nod his head apologetically. Then the man's body convulsed and he fell limp, his chest no longer rising and falling.

* * *

Days later, the entire orphanage burned. The entire town of Araphen came to mourn the passing of the great bishop who has shown kindness to all and the 27 orphans, casualties in a horrible tragedy. The biohazard team leader was the first to arrive and the last to leave. As he headed home well after the flames had died down, one thought kept turning in his mind… 

'Why did the report say all personal effects were burned when the bishop clearly had quite a few items?'

He sighed and continued…just another mystery in this great godforsaken plague.

* * *

Even a week after the meeting, Matthew still couldn't believe what he had heard. He knew it was happening, but he never knew that it would be to this extent. 

Lycia and Bern were now officially in a state of war.

But Matthew had his doubts. Though he suspected that Bern was behind this in the first place, the time he spent in Khathelet made him reconsider. If Bern had planned it all along, they would've struck already. But waiting for Hector to declare war, and waiting for the plague to destroy nearly the entire area of invasion didn't make sense., especially now since Bern couldn't strike for fear of the bacteria.

"The thing that is destroying us is also saving us…' he thought ruefully; this time, he didn't laugh at the irony. There were too many of them.

Luckily, Hector felt the same way as Matthew did. The man was oafish at times, but he was by no means an idiot. Matthew had been given his next assignment. He was to infiltrate Bern and uncover the truth. Matthew sighed…it was going to be a long mission, but he had confidence in his skills.

…besides, his contacts were two old friends from Bern whom he was eager to meet.

* * *

Dr. Christopher Liang was in his private laboratory in Khathelet. He was hunched over, looking at rows of data. In his test tubes, an ominous looking substance was submerged in some nutrient broth. Dr. Liang had been studying these specimens for quite a while. 

Little did he know this time his data would be different…

And that it would change his life forever…

* * *

Matthew left Ostia the day after Hector received the report of the orphanage tragedy. As he rode towards Tuscana, his mind still recounted Hector's reaction. The silent shaking, the sullen expression, and the taciturn manner in which he left the room…everything was embedded into his memory. 

Matthew sighed as he continued North, hoping to enter Bern from Sacae as to not rouse suspicion. His contacts would meet him in Sacae.

Then, Matthew thought, then they would get to the bottom of this once and for all.

* * *

Oswin hurried towards Hector with a release from Khathelet. Matthew was gone so Oswin had taken over reporting duties. He found the Marquess and his wife in the throne room, talking quietly. Oswin apologized for the intrusion.

"It's okay Oswin, go on." Florina replied softly, knowing her husband's rather coarse temper.

"Thank you milady." Oswin said before turning to Hector. "Sir, this came in today: Dr. Christopher J. Liang, Microbiologist of the KBI and the Bacterium Project has vanished. His residence was found to be on fire approximately 3 days ago. No body was found in the wreck which leads the Khathlati Militia to think that it was intentional."

After Oswin finished reading, the room remained silent for a long time. Nobody talked, or even moved. Then Hector pointed towards the door.

"Go…" He said shakily. "I want wanted posters of this man all over Elibe. Bring me that bastard dead or alive."

Oswin saluted and left from the room. Hector then sighed and placed his head in his hands. He felt Florina's soft arms embrace him lightly. He looked up at his wife.

"What are we to do Florina?"

* * *

Araphen laid in ruins. People were starving, either from the Khathlati Strain or the lack of food. Crops had been burned, but people still died. Imported consumables were running low, and with the apathy shown by the rest of Elibe, Araphen had no choice but to await it's death. 

Khathelet was no better than Araphen. The Marquess and Marchioness were both bedridden. Doctor's worst fears had been confirmed…both were suffering from malnutrition. Before he fell ill, the Marquess had sent his only daughter away, hoping to save her. She was the last person from Khathelet and Araphen allowed to leave the area. Days later, Caelin and Pherae Militia arrived, preventing anybody from entering or exiting the area. People running for their lives now were turned back, forcefully at times. All trade wagons into and out of the area were thoroughly searched. The militia left no stone unturned.

Both Khathelet and Araphen were dying… the population stayed indoors for fear of contracting the disease. Those who were brave enough to venture outside were rewarded with a slow and painful death. Soldiers stationed at the trade routes in and out of Khathelet and Araphen would never forget the face of a dying man, woman or child. But to all men in service stationed there, a partially decomposed kitty cat at the side of the road exemplified the state of the infected cities.

Nobody realized until it was too late what the dead cat meant.

* * *

Charlie: If you can guess what the dead cat means, I'll give you a prize. 

Erk: Yeah, right, don't trust him.

Charlie: HEY! I'm trustworthy! Oh well, thanks for sticking with me. Please review. I really hope you guys like this so far.


	5. Manhunt

Charlie: Hello, I'mma back. Thankies to everyone who reviewed. I heart you all! Ahem…anyways. Nobody guessed what the cat meant. Someone ALMOST got it right before he/she/it went completely off topic. Well anyways. This chapter is considerably less brutal…but yes, as always, it ain't strawberry shortcake. Well, hope you enjoy. And I don't own this thing blahblahblah, you know the drill.

* * *

_**The Khathlati Strain**_

Chapter 4: Manhunt

Matthew sipped his drink calmly, waiting for his contacts to show up. Looking out at the sinking sun, he wondered if they would ever get there.

He was in a tavern on the Sacae/Bern border. Supposedly his contacts from Bern were to meet him there at around noon. It was already nearing sundown. As time passed, Matthew wondered if his information was wrong.

Just as Matthew was about to go out and search for them, two hooded figures strolled in. Matthew watched the newcomers from the corner of his eye and followed their movement to the table next to him. One of the hooded figures purposely sat close to Matthew, very close.

"…That you Matthew?" A voice whispered.

Matthew made no sound but nodded steadily. The two hooded figures nodded discretely and ordered their drinks. Matthew nonchalantly moved the chair one table over, bringing his drink over.

"Took you two long enough…" He smiled softly.

The two removed their hoods and smiled back. One was a woman, with blonde hair, while the other a man with wildly colored green and white hair. Matthew noted some changes that occurred in the fifteen years they were apart. Heath had definitely matured quite a bit, whereas Vaida had grew her hair out. Matthew thought she definitely looked a LOT better with longer hair, although that scar is still quite nasty.

"Well, you know how hard it is to get a Wyervan out of Bern nowadays." Vaida replied.

Matthew smiled and nodded. "So, what the heck is going on in Bern? Are you guys really releasing that nasty bug into Lycia? It's killing tons of people. I mean, Raven and Lucius are both dead… remember those two?"

Vaida nodded sadly. "Yeah… but as for Bern being behind it all, it is very possible. Ever since Prince Zephiel took power, strange things have been going on in that palace. Zephiel is definitely not that man we hoped he would be. He spends his time taxing the population into oblivion, sleeping with every young maiden he can get his hands on and plotting what seems to me are world domination plans."

Matthew took some time for this information to set in. "Wait…world domination?"

This time Heath nodded his head. "Yeah, I've been in the palace a few times, and Zephiel's scientists swarm the prince blabbing weird code names. It sounds very suspicious."

Matthew listened to the two talk as he went over the situation in his head. Prince Zephiel is definitely acting strange, and Matthew was determined to figure it out.

"So tell me." Matthew asked. "How long has he been like this?"

"Almost two months…" Vaida replied.

Matthew sat up rigid in his chair when he heard the response. "…two months? That was when the disease started to spread in Khathelet…two months ago."

Vaida and Heath nodded gravely. "Personally," Vaida said. "We have no doubt that Zephiel is behind this disease of yours."

* * *

Dr. Patric Pan was in his study in Khathelet. For the past few days, he had not dared to venture outside of his house, having recently received a very alarming post from his good friend who was now probably somewhere in Ryerde by now.

It was sundown in Khathelet and he knew that the killer bacteria were out there, killing. It was during night where all the cries of pain and agony were the strongest, not blocked out by the constant cremating and funerals that occurred during daytime. Patric sighed as he sank into his chair and began to read, since by now, books were his only escape.

He had just turned a page when he heard a window smash in the kitchen. Wondering what caused it, he placed his book down and walked over to investigate. When he arrived at the kitchen, he found the window in pieces on the floor, smashed in by a single brick. Curious, he moved over the pick up the brick…

Hours later, he woke up, bound and gagged in a darkened room.

* * *

Chris had been on the run for three days and already the militia was on him. He cursed himself for being stupid enough to draw attention to his escape, but given to contents in his laboratory, there was no choice. Fire was the only thing that would burn the bacteria.

As he walked the streets of Ryerde, hidden from the public in a heavy, brown robe, Chris' mind wondered back to the results of his experiment that night. It was supposed to be a routine check up, but as he observed his isolated strains, he noticed one tube which he had kept a bit too close to his heater had an interesting hue to the liquid. So carefully, he ran a few experiments with it. Finding that the only anomaly was the fact that it decomposed sugar a bit faster, he decided to use the laboratory animals.

The minute he released the airlock between the rat's box and the bacteria infested air, he knew something was wrong.

The rat had flopped over, dead.

But it was far from unmarked.

Chris shuddered as the rat's flesh began to decompose further after death…until an unrecognizable heap of blood, bone and flesh fragments remained.

When he saw it, he knew…

Just as what the anti-creation theorists had predicted, a species can change over time… and in his laboratory; the Khathlati Strain had changed…drastically

Chris shuddered one more time at the consequences if what he saw in his lab became reality… then he ducked into a nearby inn as he saw the Ryerde Militia sweep the streets again for him.

Behind him, a hooded figured disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

Dr. May of the Caelin General Hospital stood in awe among the emaciated bodies of her patients. As she moved among the masses in her biohazard suit that was now required of all medical staff, May felt her heart flip over and over as dying men, women and children begged her to relieve their pain. She bit her lip and sadly shook her head at everyone she passed. It's been a week since the first symptoms had shown up in Caelin and already the hospital was low on pain-relievers. She felt tears welling up in her eyes as she walked past a few dead patients, who expired the night before. Sadly, she covered their heads and marked them down in her records. She knew that the others were watching her, knowing that they would soon follow suit… and she knew that many wish they were already dead.

A mile away, Caelin Militia had stopped a supply caravan heading towards Pherae. After disposing of and burning all crop products, the militia let the caravan pass.

* * *

Chris was ordering a drink when he noticed a creepy hooded man sitting two tables over. He glanced at the newcomer and shivered. There was something about him that sent chills down the fugitive scientist's back.

After a while, the man got his food and left. Chris breathed a sigh of relief and continued to eat in peace.

Then his dessert came, and the waiter brought up a beautiful slice of cake. Chris smiled at the richness of the puffy chocolate cake and the creamy chocolate ice cream. There was nothing better after a hard day of avoiding the authorities. The waiter placed the beautiful work of art on the table, gave Chris a polite bow and left. Chris smiled and picked up the fork to eat. Just as he was about to take a bite, he noticed all the waiters and waitresses looking at him. As his eyes scanned the room, he noticed every server in the room tensing up. He looked back down at the cake and inspected it closely. Upon closer inspection, he found abnormally dark spots in the chocolate.

Chris' innate paranoia kicked in and he quickly set down his fork, and ran for heck towards the door. When he burst out into the street, militiamen surrounded him from both ends of the street. With no where to go, Chris grabbed the awning and pulled himself up towards the roof. He knew that if he didn't get onto the roof before the arrows started flying, he would be dead.

Chris felt his arms ached as he pulled his laboratory trained body up onto the roof. Just moments before he pulled his feet over, he felt a sharp pain at his ankle. Knowing that the militia was within range, he used the last of his energy to heave himself over the roof and disappeared over the building.

Afterwards, Chris ran as fast as he can to his hideout, not noticing the trail of blood that was left behind by his wound.

Behind the building, a hooded figure watched Chris run away. The figure took a sharp breath and turned away. Before leaving, the figure pulled back the robe, revealing a clump of long black along with a pair of soft blue eyes and delicate features that belonged in a Etrurian Court rather than a Lycian alley. She surveyed the trail of blood leading away, but decided that the prey would have noticed by now. So the assassin dumped her mysterious robes and pulled a warm cloak around her. After taking care that her blades were hidden, she strolled out of the alley. Her quarry would have to wait for another day.

She headed back towards the inn she was staying at and made ready to report a failure, knowing full well that her employer would not be happy.

* * *

Oswin burst into the throne room looking for Hector. The Marquess was sitting on his throne when the Oswin barged in.

"My lord, Dr. Liang has been sighted."

Hector perked at the news. "Where?"

"In Ryerde. The militia there almost caught him, but he managed to climb a roof and escape, although one of the sharpshooters did hit him in the leg."

"Well, whoop de doo!" Hector snarled. "That ain't gonna do jack! I SAID I WANT THAT BASTARD CAUGHT DEAD OR ALIVE!"

The entire room shook at Hector's outburst and Oswin nodded dutifully, not wanting to anger Hector more.

Hector calmed down a bit and pointed at the door. "Go Oswin, bring out the assassins if you have to…I want him dead."

Oswin nodded again before leaving the room. On his way out, he met Florina. The two looked at each other for a bit and sadly shook their heads. They both loved Hector, and wished that something would mitigate his distress.

* * *

Charlie: Yes, no deaths this time. You guys got off easy…but next chapter )

Erk: …don't mind him…

Charlie: Err, anyways. Hope you enjoy… I'll try to get the next few chapters up quickly so you won't be as confused.


	6. Tip of the Iceberg

Charlie: I'm back! Thanks for reviewing R. Amythest. Yeah, I know Vaida was probably OoC, but then I don'tpay attention to her much...so I don't know that much about her personality. Sorry about the typos...I think I fixed the ones in here. I doubt cremeting bodies would speed the process of mutation since the bacteria wouldn't survive that, but it is evolving. And I'm honored that you see me as demented n.n.

Okay, anyways, due to the huge influx of work that I will be encountering -cough SATs cough- Khathlati won't be updated until after next Saturday...not that that's much of a big difference. Oh well, on with the chapter.

* * *

_**The Khathlati Strain**_

Chapter 5: Tip of the Iceberg

Wearing a pair of Bern uniforms, Matthew easily blended in with the two Wyvrens, who were in their respective uniforms. Since Heath and Vaida were both top Wyervan Lords in the army, the trio navigated the string of armed forces gathered at the border. Their goal was to get to the dead center of the army block. As they moved, Matthew noted that the army was positioned in a defensive rather than an offensive formation.

It took the trio a few days to reach the command center. Matthew found the command center to be situated in a highly fortified castle surrounded by nearly impassable mountains. He was thoroughly puzzled. If Bern had planned to attack, they wouldn't fortify all their good men in this place. It took an entire day just to pass the mountains, and that was with three people only. Matthew began to doubt his conspiracy theory.

Upon arrival, Heath and Vaida went through the routine background checks and questions. During this time, Matthew took the liberty of vanishing into the shadows, as he always did, and snuck into the command castle. The entire structure was a series of concentric walls with archer upon archer roaming the top and cannons at the outer wall. The entire thing was designed to keep anyone hostile out, and to Matthew, it would do that just fine.

Matthew went unnoticed throughout the castle, his many years of experience coming into play. Deftly sneaking past the levels, he took back his previous impressions. He saw that behind the archer and cannon façade, there was really nothing else to protect this castle short of a few castle guards armed with outdated lances.

In a matter of minutes, Matthew had made his way to the center. Zeroing in on a room he assumed to be the central command station, Matthew pressed his ear against the wall. After confirming that nobody was in there, he worked his lock picking magic and snuck in. The command station was very simple. A mere desk for the general stood in the back, with portraits of the leaders of Bern hanging on the wall. Another table for conferences stood to the side. Matthew quickly snuck over to the general's desk. After flipping through numerous papers, he found nothing. Not one document indicating hostile troop movement, attack plans, or even the biological weapon that Bern had been assumed to have released.

Just then, Matthew's keen ear picked up movement in the hallway. Looking around, the thief quickly found himself a niche in the wall and hid there among the shadows, hoping nobody needed to go to that corner for any reason.

The door opened moments later, and two well decorated men strode in. The leading man took a seat at his desk while the second man pulled a chair up. The two men looked grim while the first man looked at the document he was looking at.

"Let me get this straight Colonel." The first man said. "Hector of Ostia actually think WE released that god damn disease into their territory?"

The colonel across from him nodded. "Unfortunately General, that's the case. Apparently, the Marquess believes our station of troops at the southern border where the disease outbreak is an act of aggression, like we're taking advantage of Lycia during a time of crisis."

The general groaned and placed his head into his hands. "I swear that man is an idiot." He groaned. He looked up at his colonel. "But that cannot be helped. Right now, we must stick to mission protocols. Not a single soul is to enter or leave the border between Bern and Lycia."

The colonel nodded. As the conversation progressed, Matthew saw that his theory had completely collapsed. Bern wasn't planning to attack Lycia, but that still didn't explain why the country had placed its troops along its southern borders.

The general continued. "Right now colonel, our goal remains as always. We do not want that nasty bug spreading into our beloved country. I thought we had made it clear to Hector that that was our intention in the first place."

The colonel looked down. "Umm, sir... I think they failed to mention to you that our message never got across.

The Bern general's eyes flashed. "WHAT!"

The colonel shuddered. "It's true sir...the messengers died on route, and it was too late to go around as a state of war had already been declared. Hector never knew our intentions."

The general sighed. "God damn it, who the hell is running this army?"

Matthew had heard all he needed to hear. Moving silently he snuck out from his niche and moved among the furniture. Just as he got to the door, both men at the desk rose and headed right towards him. Offered with no choice, Matthew broke for it.

Both the general and the colonel jumped when the mysterious solder leaped from behind a chair and bolted for the door. It took a second for the two to process the information before they both arrived at the same conclusion.

"A spy!" They both exclaimed at once and immediately ran out to alert the guards.

Outside, Heath and Vaida heard the infiltration alert. They looked at each other with grave expressions before sprinting towards the castle.

At that time, Matthew was already busy scribbling his report as he bolted through the hallways.

* * *

Dr. May walked through the hallways of the Caelin General Hospital with a depressed air surrounding her. More and more people are dying everyday of the plague, and she hated herself for the fact that she couldn't find a cure. 

As she walked through the hospital, she remembered her last few patients, who had looked her in the eyes before they went. Their eyes were filled with sorrow and suffering, as their body destroyed itself in the search for an energy source.

Dr. May couldn't shake the feeling that these patients weren't really dying of starvation. Although they were clearly malnourished, May was sure that it was but a side effect of something much deadlier. Malnutrition can be treated with nutrient shots, but to these patients, nutrient shots had no effect whatsoever, which led May to consider the validity of the Death by Starvation theory.

But now was no time to think. Her colleagues advised her to transfer to another hospital, for now the death rate of doctors is also climbing. Reluctant to abandon her patients, she had to realize that she could do nothing to save them. Her expertise would be better spent in a research lab. So accepting the transfer, May agreed to move to Ryerde to a modest medical research lab.

As she left Caelin that night, her thoughts set on Ryerde, she remembered that the news report confirmed the presence of the scientist who released the disease hiding out in the area. In her heart, May hoped to meet this man, so that she could pick up a knife and kill the one who had caused so much pain and suffering.

* * *

After her report of one failed assassination was filed, Kiyoko strode from the post and walked swiftly towards the inn at which she and her partner were staying. There were three of them in all, but only She and Audrey had been assigned the Ryerde target. As Kiyoko strode through the streets of Ryerde, she thought back to her secret employer. Neither she nor her partners have seen their employer face to face yet. The man was enigmatic, choosing to communicate with his assassins through secret notes. 

Kiyoko wondered what he looked like, or why he wanted these scientists dead, but she did know that he was paying her and her partners a very healthy sum. Besides, the man she was currently hunting is well known to her. He was the scientist who allegedly released Khathlati into Lycia, killing thousands in the process. She was sure that the man who had hired her had family dead from the deadly disease.

Presently, Kiyoko found herself at the door to her room already. She stepped inside and found her partner pacing around impatiently.

"Where the hell have you been Kiyo?" asked a young woman with long brown hair.

"Taking care of business." Kiyoko replied. "He got away Audrey."

Audrey nodded solemnly at her partner. "Yeah, I know. We just got a nice little death threat from our mysterious friend."

Audrey gestured towards a opened letter. Kiyoko moved over and picked the piece of parchment up. The contents of the letter were quite threatening. Kiyoko knew that she could not fail anymore.

"Well...looks like somebody really want this guy dead." Kiyoko said after reading the letter.

"Yeah..." Audrey agreed. Then in silence, both women strode from the room, making sure their respective weapons were well hidden. As they walked through the streets, they began to secretly plan their next strike.

* * *

Heath and Vaida saw Matthew burst out of the castle frantically while soldiers chased him. Lucky for the spy, his agility gave him an edge over the knights in their heavy armor. Quickly, Matthew ran over to the two Wyvern Lords and handed them a piece of parchment. 

"Get this to Hector!" He yelled at them. "NOW!"

Heath and Vaida stared at the note in front of them, momentarily stunned, before the wizzing of arrows snapped them back to reality. Instantly, they scrambled to their Wyverns and rode into the western skies.

The General of Bern ran out to see two of his units assisting the Lycian spy. Furious, he ordered his archers to bring down the traitors. Then, grabbing a musket, which was still new to Bern, he brought a squad of three musketeers to hunt down the spy. From his location, he saw the man give the traitorous Wyvern Lords a piece of parchment before dashing off towards the mountains. The general took aim and fired, praying that his aim was true.

Matthew heard the loud crack. Though muskets were a very recent invention, the frantic training of musketeers at Ostia already acclimated him to the crack of these weapons. He knew that if he didn't get to cover, he was dead. Lucky for him, the first shot had missed, the lead ball lodging itself into the ground next to him.

The general cursed as his first shot missed. He ordered his men to hunt the spy down as he tossed his musket to the ground. He knew that by the time will have reloaded, the spy would either be dead, captured or had escaped. Moments later, three successive cracks rang out through the air, and a cry of pain emitted from the fleeing spy. The general smiled, his men had hit.

Matthew felt the lead ball strike his leg. He fell over, felling fire flare from his left leg and spread throughout his body. Looking up, he found the soldiers of Bern surround him, pointing their weapons at him. He knew it was over, he had been caught. He just hope his message got through to Hector.

Looking up towards the horizon, he stared in horror as one of the fleeing Wyvern Lords took a hit from an arrow.

* * *

Heath heard Vaida cry out. He turned around and saw his commander's lifeless body wobbling in her mount, with an arrow through her neck. Seconds later, it fell, plunging back into the ground. 

Heath held back the tears as he flew westward, carrying Matthew's letter.

* * *

In Caelin, Araphen and Khathelet, the mountain of dead piled up. The three provinces have become the cities of the dead. And now, an even greater danger stands before the inhabitants. 

For four travelers in Khathelet, the danger became very clear. All very healthy and robust youths, the travelers were planning to leave the dead city when without warning, one of their members shriveled suddenly and died. To his horrified companions, his corpse resembled that of a victim of Khathlati. Then, as sudden as one death had come, the rest succumbed as well, all shriveling and dying in a matter of seconds.

Around them, the wind made ripples in the desolate fields.

* * *

Charlie: Well now...somebody's screwed. Actually, a lot of people are screwed. Well, that's this chapter...see yas after SATs...unless I get compelled to get the next chapter out... or I don't have any homework. Please review. I wanna know what you think. It doesn't take long to leave one. 


	7. Carved in Memory

Charlie: At the time of starting this chapter, I have no idea if I would be done before or after March the 12th, also known as SAT day, Monte Carlo night for SMHS or Audrey's birthday (Yes, the Audrey in my fic is a real person, as with a lot of other characters because I lack in imagination). But anyways, I'm starting it. Process is slow because of my crapload of work, but I'll see what I can do for you guys.

* * *

_**The Khathlati Strain**_

Chapter 6: Carved in Memory

Tania, the last frontier on the Eastern border. The city was the main producer of gunpowder and explosive arms. Because of the destructive nature of these products, Tania is the most well guarded city in the country as well as the biggest training center for up and coming soldiers converting from melee weapons to gunpowder firearms. The entire city was surrounded by a 3 feet thick brick wall guarded by musketeers. All persons desiring entrance must present special passes at the main gate. And with recent events, it was near impossible to gain entrance into Tania.

Heath soared through the Lycian air. In one hand, he bore the Lycian flag, in the other, Matthew's report. Flying at an altitude of over 2500 meters, Heath passed by without arousing much attention.

His flight from Bern brought him close to Tania. Then, he thought, it won't be long until the war would be over.

Just as he passed over Tania, he noticed that Hyperion, his wyvern, began to shake. The giant beast suddenly thrashed about, nearly tossing Heath off his mount. As Heath struggled to regain control of the beast, he felt the wyvern's body shiver, as if something was under its skin.

Moments later, Hyperion became noticeably thinner. The beast's eyes bulged out from sunken sockets. His wing muscles diminished until no longer can the giant wyvern stay in the air.

Heath panicked as he felt himself falling towards the ground, his wyvern no longer strong enough to support his weight.. Just as he reached around for anything that could've saved his life, he felt his own body shiver. It was a queer sensation, as if something was separating his skin from his muscles. Then, as sudden as it had happened to his wyvern, Heath's body began to wither away. Pain flared from all over his body as Heath screamed out in agony.

Moments later Heath and Hyperion hit the ground, and Heath's near dissolved body rolled off the giant beast's back. Seconds later, Hyperion opened his eyes. It was stained completely red with blood. The wyvern took a few weakening steps towards his master and without even flinching, tore his master's decomposed meat off his bones.

Just two miles away, Tanian soldiers watched as what they perceived to be an enemy spy fall out of the sky.

...by the time they find Heath, it would be too late.

* * *

Many people gathered on the streets of Ostia for the funeral of the Marquess and Marchioness of Khathelet. Because of the bacterial scourge, the bodies of the two were disinfected and carried to Ostia for the funeral. 

Princess Kathryn Sith and her little sister Princess Hitomi watched tearfully as the funeral passed by. The two were the princesses of Khathelet, and Kate was the heir to the throne. Yet now, with their home ravaged by the scourge of Khathlati, they could do nothing but watch as the two caskets were carried down. They knew that their parents were in them. As tears rolled down her flushed cheeks, Kate turned towards her little sister and embraced her. The two sisters stood together as their parents passed them, heading towards their final fate in life.

On the other side, Hector watched the two sisters grieve. He felt a pang in his heart and he looked over to his own daughter, Lilina. Lilina was in her late teens. Her delicate frame and soft features resembled that of her mother's, yet her hair was a deep blue. Hector wondered if Lilina would one day have to see her one or both of her parents go down that street in a casket. Hector found it to horrifying to imagine so he wrenched his gaze from his daughter back towards the processions. By his side, he felt his wife's grip on his arm tighten slightly.

* * *

When Tanian soldiers finally found Heath, they were shocked to discover that something had half eaten him. The body lacked a head, two limbs and was disembowled. Many soldiers puked on the spot. 

The group was sent out nearly two days after the reported sighting of a downed enemy wyvern. Led by a burly captain, the group had scoured the area for half the day before one man tripped over what seemed to be a very soft buried branch. Upon close inspection, the man discovered the gruesome truth, that the branch he had tripped over was really the leg of a dead man.

The captain was disappointed; not only were there no documents found, but the soldier was bearing the flag of Lycia. He knew that the Lycian council would not be happy about this apparent friendly fire incident. Just as he was about the throw in the towel, one of his men saved his rank. In the man's remaining hand was a rolled piece of paper. The captain ordered the men to bring him the paper, hoping for something that would save him from a demotion.

When he got the paper, the captain dusted it of lightly and unrolled it. As he read, his men could see his eyes widen. The minute he finished, he turned to his men with a shocked expression.

"We have to get back and tell command!" He exclaimed almost maniacally.

Wondering if it was a real emergency or if their captain was just going insane, the men fought to keep up with their captain's horse. Nobody noticed in their haste that the ground upon which they rode was littered with decomposed bodies of forest animals.

* * *

Kiyoko and Audrey wormed their way through the slums of Ryerde. Though the two assassins were pretty confident that their target was lurking somewhere within the vicinity, they had something else to do. The two needed to find their partner, and fast. Their secret employer, unhappy with recent failed attempts, wanted to see the three in person. According to his letter, Kiyoko and Audrey had three hours to find their worthless partner and haul their asses to the designated rendezvous location. 

Fortunately for them, they knew exactly where Christine would be. The three snaked their way to a seedy inn. After consulting with the innkeeper, the two women approached a room and knocked lightly on the door.

Moments later, the door opened, and a young woman wearing a bath robe peeked out. She gasped when she found her partners.

"Kiyo! Audrey! What are you two doing here?" She asked in surprised, making sure that her partners didn't see what was inside her room.

Kiyoko sighed. "Our employer isn't happy. He wants to see us now." She said to the woman.

Christine looked behind her. "Now? As in this moment?"

Audrey exploded. "Yes you slut! Now put on some clothes and get your ass out of there before I slit your throat myself!"

Kiyoko put a restraining arm on Audrey to prevent the explosive woman from doing anything brash. Christine blushed upon Audrey's words. She gave a curt nod and retreated into the room momentarily. After a brief period of time, Christine emerged, dressed as her partners were: plain traveling clothes and a long dark cloak to hide her daggers. The trio departed and headed out of the slums.

It was almost sunset when they found the location: a dank warehouse that looked abandoned. Cautiously, Kiyoko led her partners into the warehouse, keeping her eyes peeled for traps.

The warehouse was indeed abandoned. Nothing was there except for a pile of boxes in a corner. The three assassins fanned out in the warehouse, looking for their employer. Minutes later, the three gathered in the middle, unable to find anything.

Audrey groaned. "Why'd that guy threaten us if he was gonna be late himself?"

"Maybe he was sidetracked..." Kiyoko muttered.

"Well, he still should be here!" Audrey grumbled.

Just then, an eerie voice pierced the air.

"I am here fools. You three just didn't look hard enough."

The girls jumped and looked around for the source. Moments later, Audrey pointed to a human figure jumping down from a stack of crates.

"Wh-who are you!" Christine asked in a shaky voice. She and her companions were clustered in a tight ball, relying on each other for the support that their own shaky knees couldn't provide.

"Me? Why of course." The same eerie voice rang out. It was cold, raspy, almost inhuman. "My name is Charlie Wu. I am what you would call a geneticist and a biochemist. I work towards finding new advances into these two blooming fields."

As the man stepped forward, Kiyoko took a look at their mysterious employer. As the man walked into the light, Kiyoko found herself staring at his face. The scientist looked young, not much older than 30, but his hair had gray streaks running through it, his eyes were extremely bloodshot, and his overall expression was quite, interesting to say the least. If the man wasn't standing in front of her, Kiyoko would've sworn he was a monster from a horror novel.

"Well, enough about me. We need to discuss your assignment. It has come to my attention that Dr. Liang is once again free."

Kiyoko, Audrey and Christine nodded in unison, all three finding their throats too dry to talk.

"Well..." Charlie said. "You see, that is a problem. Dr. Liang is an evil man, a bane to humanity, a curse on the scientific world! He is destroying humanity and must be stopped."

The three nodded once again.

As Charlie advanced further, his bloodshot eyes pierced the three as he continued to talk. "I must say, I am highly disappointed by your efforts."

Kiyoko gulped.

"However, I am giving you more chance." Charlie said. "Onelast chance; fail me again and you will face the consequences."

The three assassins nodded.

"Good." Charlie smiled a wicked smile with yellow teeth. "I have business in Ostia that I must take care of. It would take me three days at most. I want Dr. Liang's head in here on a platter when I return exactly three days from now, or else..." The man drew a dagger. "I may have to find a replacement."

That night, all three assassins had the worst nightmares of their life.

* * *

Ostian streets crowded once again as another funeral is held. This time, the deceased were not rulers, but the scientists that the Ostian had grown to hate. The scientists who created themurderousbacterial strain known by the place of its birth...the Khathlati Strain. 

But everyone was paying their respects.

Florina stood among the crowd with her daughter and the princesses of Khathelet as two caskets were carried down the street. One is of Dr. Jessica Nam who was found dead in her house a while ago. The other is of Dr. Patric Pan who was recently determined missing and presumed dead. Both were scientist that worked at the KBI.

Yet both were innocent. Florina recalled when Oswin brought her the report. Hector had gone to Etruria to ask for help from the retired Mage General Pent, so Florina took over his duties somewhat. Dr. Patric Pan's house was found empty with a window smashed, and blood was found in the kitchen floor. The Khathelet Militia, or whatever was left of it, presumed a murder and filed a report. The next day, a letter to the man from his colleague Dr. Liang was found.

According to the report, Dr. Liang suspect himself of being infected, so he burned his house and fled so he wouldn't infect others. His last wish was for Patric to warn the public that Khathlati may be evolving to kill quicker and faster.

Dr. Pan went missing before he got his chance.

Upon receiving the report, Florina ordered the manhunt on Dr. Liang to be called off, and memorials to be erected in honor of the two deceased scientists.

Two days later, Dr. Christopher Liang was pardoned and given a full apology along with a post at the Ryerde Medical Research Laboratory.

However, many still doubted Dr. Liang's innocence. Medical researcher Dr. May Fryst was one of them.

* * *

Sacae and Etruria, two continents on the mainland of Elibe that weren't affected by the disease. The two nations turned a cold shoulder to the blasphemous on goings between Bern and Lycia. The leaders of the respective nations felt that Lycia brought the scourge onto itself with its sacrilegious ways. 

However, the sentiments of thegovernment were not shared by the sentiments of the people. In Sacae, three plainsmen set out for Lycia to assist their old comrades. All three had fought in the war against Nergal, and their principles dictated that they help their friends in need.

In Etruria however, many people shared in the government's belief. Only a few desired to help the ailing nations of Lycia and Bern.

Among that few, only two did anything to help.

Bidding farewell to their home, a prominent Mage in Etruria set out with his wife to Lycia, knowing full well that one or both of them could die.

* * *

In Ostia, refugee KBI scientist, Dr. Brian Wu, sat to dinner with his wife and two children. As they said their prayers and began to eat, the man heard an unusually loud rustling in his back yard. Deciding that it was just the neighbor's big dog, the family continued to eat. 

Next door, the neighbors of the former Khathlati Scientist lay dead in their own blood. Their dog laying right beside his masters.

* * *

Charlie: Well, I did much better than I thought I would do on my model tests, so I won't be doing the massive "OMG I'M GONNA DIE! MUST FREAK OUT AND CRAM!" Thing I was planning, so I got this done before Saturday...go me! Well anyways...first a kitty, now a doggie, how low can I go? Obviously, since I'm a maniacal writer, you've just seen me portray myself as a maniacal villain. Fitting isn't it? Well, please review! Hope you're enjoying this. 


	8. A Nation Scorned

Charlie: WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! SATS ARE OVER! HALLELUJAH!...okay, now that that's done, time to continue with this story. Hope you still like it. Oh and this chapter...really competes with the chapter where the kitty dies for brutality, but it's got some sap in it, so hopefully it won't be that bad. Anyways, I don't own Fire Emblem...yeah, what's the point of saying that again?

By the way, thanks for the comment Kevin. I'm still debating on some MT members, because I want to write a sequelish thingy. And well, since I suck with names, I'd us you guys if I do write one.

* * *

_**The Khathlati Strain**_

Chapter 7: A Nation Scorned

It was nearing dusk in the Sacaen city of Bulgar. Throughout the street, people are closing down shops and factories and getting ready to head home. Among them, three plainsmen moved discretely along the road. They were dressed in plain cotton cloaks that showed no mark of any tribe. They were on a mission, and did not need any tribal feuds to get in the way.

The oldest of the three men had long gray hair. He carried his sword blatently at his side, not caring if anybody saw it. His face was beginning to show the signs of old age and his eyes are that of a jaded man.

Next to him was a younger man, with long green hair tied up in a braid. He had a bounce in his step, and was constantly chatting to people, whether it was his comrades or any random stranger unfortunate enough to get in the way.

The last man was a taciturn man. He wore a bandana over his hair and carried about him an air of importance. Though he barely looked over thirty, his eyes showed the wisdom of a man twice his age.

Unknown to the weary citizens packing up after a hard day of work, the three men walking towards the western end of town all fought against Nergal nearly two decades past. They were headed towards Lycia, hoping to help the lord whom they fought with so many years ago. But as they headed towards the border between Lycia and Sacae, they could not have guessed the events that were about to change everything forever.

* * *

The once great city of Tania fell rapidly. A mere week after the retrieval of the Wyvern Lord's message, the entire city fell ill to a disease similar to Khathlati, only this one killed much quicker.

The captain who retrieved the message from the dead Wyvern soldier was the first to die. His death was quick compared to most Khathlati patients. His body took three days to wither and destroy itself completely. Shortly after, Tanian soldiers fell to the same disease. And with in the week, the citizenry began to die.

The fall of Tania hurt Lycia more than ever; the nation lost the bulk of its musketeers, not to mention the main producer of gunpowder units. In addition, Sacae officially closed it's border to Lycia, warning that any Lycians attempting to gain entrance into Sacae will be considered a terrorist and shot on sight. Left with no where to go, the citizenry of Southeastern Lycia was left to rot.

* * *

Khathlati had raged from Khathelet to Araphen, to Caelin and now to Tania. Almost one in every three citizens were dead. The Royalty in both Araphen and Khathelet is now dead, and the Ostian Regent ruling in Caelin is deathly ill. People were now finding ways to leave the horrible onslaught. Though it wasn't a nation wide policy yet, many cities such as Laus, Badon and Santurez have closed their borders to southern refugees. Those who survived the first onslaught of Khathlati have but two choices. Wait for death's arrival, or find refuge in Pherae, one of the only Southern cities not affected yet.

Lord Eliwood, the Marquess of Pherae, was stuck in a perilous position. His people were not happy with his open border policy. Already, refugees cluttered the streets and clashes between them and the citizens occurred daily in alarming numbers. Eliwood's popularity has been declining with his people.

His wife, the former Lady Lyndis of Caelin, worries about her husband and their son, Roy. The couple, worried that their son may contract the disease, sent him to Ostia just days before the disease hit Tania. Eliwood wanted Lyn to go with Roy, but she refused. She could not just abandon her husband in his time of need.

The situation is becoming perilous. Eliwood had to make a choice: keep his borders open and risk his people become infected with Khathlati or close his borders and condemn everyone else to sure death. With the reports of a deadlier, faster killing Khathlati, Eliwood had no choice. He had to close his borders.

Two weeks later, Eliwood would find out that his actions were too late to save his city.

* * *

Khathlati is an extremely deadly disease, but it is only as contagious as the common cold. Khathelet, once the epicenter of the disastrous disease, has now passed into a somewhat peaceful period. Though people still die from it, a three in every five citizen in Khathelet survived the disease.

The Khathelet Biomedical Institute received one reprimand after another. The director of the institute was getting frantic. If the facility doesn't find any answers quick, the skeleton government would take away all funding and close the facilities down.

However, no matter how many scientists he threw into the Khathlati case, nothing ever adds up.

Nobody knows how the bacterium is killing so fast now; nobody knows why the time it takes Khathlati to kill ranges from ten seconds to a week; nobody knows how, after all this time and massive quarantines of infected persons why the bacteria is still strong. The Khathlati Strain has become the KBI's Rubik cube. No facts add up, no theories test out, nothing makes sense.

However, all the scientists assumed the cause of death was by starvation, nobody considered any other solutions. Nobody did any autopsies.

Therefore, nobody knew the complete truth.

* * *

Erk and Priscilla crossed the Lycian border without much pomp and circumstance. They moved in silence, knowing that their actions were grounds for execution.

Days ago, the couple met up with an old friend. The current Marquess of Ostia and leader of the Lycian Council, Lord Hector of Ostia, had asked the couple for assistance with the Khathlati mess. Erk, having connections to the Etrurian government because of his connection to Lord Pent, managed to get Hector a meeting with the leaders of the country. However, Erk highly doubted the chances of anything constructive coming from the meeting.

So, before Hector's stay in Etruria was complete, Erk told his wife his desire to go to Lycia to help their old friends.

Priscilla agreed with her husband and fought to go along with him. Erk, sensing that he would not win against his determined wife, agreed to let her go along. Now the couple entered Lycia. Though they were still many miles away from the hot zone, the couple sensed the urgent atmosphere of the Lycian citizenry. Taking one last look at Etruria, Erk and Priscilla pressed on, not knowing if they would survive to see their home ever again.

* * *

Dr. May walked along the clean hallways of the Ryerde Medical Research Institute. Ever since Dr. Liang had been pardoned, May had been plagued with nightmares. To her, the man was the bane of the human race and must be killed.

Even though Dr. Liang was allegedly innocent of all the hardships that May had seen, she still didn't trust him. To her, reports meant nothing, if a man committed an atrocity, he committed an atrocity, no matter what technicality there is. In her mind, Chris killed all those people, and he must be punished for it.

May doesn't know when she thought about murdering the man, but presently she found herself plotting to kill the "evil" scientist. But she was a doctor, both by profession and at heart. Killing was definitely not one of her specialties.

In the end, she decided she needed to get close to him. If all else fails, May at least knows how to plunge a knife into a man's body over and over again. So now she walked towards the microbiology section of the institute, hoping to catch the man off guard. May had dressed appropriately for the occasion. May was already an attractive woman at 27 years old. She had soft blue eyes and brown shoulder length hair. Underneath her open lab coat she wore a revealing halter top and a skirt. Her hair was let loose across her shoulder and she even made sure to put on some light make-up, something she did not usually do.

Walking into the microbiology lab, May dropped off some charts for the scientists to mull over since microbiology wasn't that advanced of a field yet. The people were still waiting for more powerful microscopes. Soon after she entered, she found the man she was looking for looking over charts at a desk. May walked up to him carefully and cleared her throat.

Dr. Liang was obviously still getting used to his freedom. As soon as May cleared her throat, the man jumped from his table and looked around frantically. May jumped back a bit, surprised.

"It's okay... it's only meDr. Liang." She said after she reoriented herself.

Chris saw her and relaxed noticeably. "Oh hey." He said. "You name was May right?"

May nodded her head slowly.

"I thought so. You can call me Chris." Chris said holding out his hand. "Heh, you'll have to excuse my, umm, acting for a bit. I'm still nervous."

May took Chris'hand and shook it. She twinged a little for his grip was a bit stronger than she expected.

"It's okay." She replied. "So, umm, what are you doing?"

Chris pointed to the charts and data on his table. "Oh... these, these are the data for Khathlati. I'm trying to find some pattern to them, and hopefully we can figure out what this disease does and maybe find a cure or treatment."

May listened as Chris went on to explain his job and the incongruity of the data. As she listened, the seed of doubt in her heart grew. By the end of his lecture, she was no longer sure if the man was the killer who released Khathlati. If he was, he was making a conscience effort to stop something he started.

"Wow..." May said after Chris finished.

"Yeah, it's pretty confusing... I've been poring over this since the day I got here."

May wasn't sure if he meant the day he got to Ryerde, or the day he got to the institute, but it was a long time either way.

"You look tired." May observed.

"I am tired." Chris said. "I haven't slept much."

"You need a day off."

May paused before continuing. "Want to come over for dinner? I'll cook something for you. We don't want you gettingsick now."

Chris smiled. "Umm, well, sure. I haven't eaten much for a while."

May smiled back. "Okay, I'll see you at, say seven?"

"It's a date." Chris said.

May didn't remember that she wanted to kill the man until she got home that afternoon.

* * *

Audrey crept out of the Ryerde Medical Research Institute that afternoon, having overheard an interesting conversation. She quickly went to report to her peers.

Kiyoko was happy to hear that their target would be away from a crowd that night. They could finally make their move. Regretfully, she would also have to kill that innocent doctor, but to Kiyoko, it has become a personal matter.

Three days ago, the only person who ever cared for her died of Khathlati. Kiyoko's grandmother, who raised her since her childhood, died in Tania. Her death certificate found its way to Kiyoko just the day before. Now, more than ever, Kiyoko wanted the man who killed her grandmother to die. So she threw her heart into planning the perfect assassination. Dr. Liang would die tonight. She promised herself that.

* * *

That night, May prepared a nice dinner for two people. After making sure that her outfit and appearance were okay, she sat down and waited for Chris to arrive. Around seven, she heard a knock at her door. May opened to door to a jittery Dr. Liang. The man obviously hadn't been on many dates. He wore his usual shirt and some slacks, though he didn't have his lab coat this time. He gave her a bouquet of lilies and stuttered when he greeted her. May giggled at his shyness and invited him in.

As the night progressed, Chris became more and more comfortable around May and his speech became normal. The two sat through dinner, talking about their lives, their past, and their careers. May found that as she knew more and more about the man sitting at her table, the less she found him to be the maniacal man she portrayed him as. He felt guilty about the Khathlati Bacterium Experiment; he felt bad that it was supposed to be a simple agriculture experiment that went horribly wrong. All in all, he wasn't the monster that May found him to be, and she couldn't bring herself to kill him.

However, images of dying men, women and children in Caelin still lingered in her mind. Caught between her horrible experiences and hergrowing feelings about the man, May snapped. Without warning, she began to scream at the top of her lungs. Chris saw her and wondered if she was going insane. When he tried to approach her however, May pulled out a foot long dagger and swiped at him. Luckily for Chris, his musclesand reflexes were a bit toned from the long time he was on the run from the law and he managed to dodge. He looked at May fearfully.

"Wh-what are you doing?" He yelled.

"You…" May said deranged. "You are the cause of all the suffering!"

"May, what?"

"YOU UNLEASHED KHATHLATI! HAVE YOU SEEN THE VICTIMS! YOU NEED TO DIE!"

Fully convinced that his date had gone insane, Chris tossed a chair at May and crashed through a window before the girl had any time to react.

The shattering window brought May back to her senses somewhat. She looked down at her knife and began weeping, this time, she was mad at herself.

Unfortunately for her, her woes were yet to be over. Three young women suddenly burst into her house, all armed with daggers. May looked up and froze. Assassins, she thought. Her dagger fell from her hand.

"Who...who are you?"

The lead assassin said nothing, but motioned for her partner to do something. May was just about to speak again when something hard hit her.

* * *

Kiyoko watched as Audrey and Christine dragged the unconscious doctor into a basement. She surveyed her surrounding, the broken glass and the dropped dagger gave her a suspicion that the doctor being locked up wasn't on a normal date.

When Audrey and Christine came back, the three assassins searched the house, but they all knew that their target was probably gone. The doctor also had a grudge against the man. Kiyoko became increasingly convinced that their target was the madman who released Khathlati.

It was then when May woke up. She looked around and found herself locked in her basement. Knowing that there were three deadly assassins upstairs, she did the only thing that she could do. May opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Chris heard the scream. He knew it was May who was yelling. He didn't know what happened to her; whether she really still believed he unleashed Khathlati or if she was just really crazy. But as the screaming continued, he was worried that she had done something stupid. So he turned back and ran as fast as he can to her house.

When he arrived, he found the front door broken open. He cautiously pressed himself against the outer wall and peeked in. Inside, he found three young women talking to each other. Luckily, none of them were facing him, but Chris recognized their outfits. It was the same outfit as the man at the inn a while ago who probably had something to do with the poisoned cake. Chris realized that it must've been the girl with her hood over her head. He looked around for a weapon, knowing that they will kill May if he didn't do anything.

He came across a big rock and decided that it would be perfect. Picking it up, Chris positioned himself to attack.

'One chance...' He thought.

Kiyoko was just about to give up on the search and go down to kill the doctor when something heavy hit her head. She collapsed to the ground, bleeding. Christine and Audrey cried out and went to check their leader for a pulse. After making sure that she had a pulse they searched for the assailant. To their surprise, they found their target charging towards them.

Chris rammed into Audrey and Christine, effectively knocking the breath out of both women. He then grabbed one of their daggers and fought his way into the house. He didn't know where they locked May up, but he assumed either the attic or the basement. Since the basement was closer, he headed there. He found the door barricaded with a chair. Tossing the chair aside, Chris opened the door and headed in.

The basement was dark. Chris could barely make out the boxes around the walls. As he searched for any sign of life, something large suddenly tackled him. He assumed the assassins had gotten to him, so he turned around and tried to swipe at his attacker. When he turned around, he found instead, that May was the one who tackled him.

"You!" She said in surprise. "Why'd you come back? After what I did to you."

Chris shook his head. "Forget about that... those three are after my blood for some reason, I don't want you getting hurt."

"...Thank you." May said, sobbing slightly. Chris couldn't see it, but she was smiling, glad that he came back for her. Looking up, he found that the basement door was closed once again.

Chris ran up and tried to open it.

"Crap...they locked us in." He announced.

Audrey and Christine carried Kiyoko out of the house and towards the nearest hospital. They knew that their targets would die of starvation soon. They would get the bodies later.

* * *

May managed to find some candles in her basement and some matches as well. After lighting the room up, the two began to search for a way out.

A while later, Chris and May sat down, unable to find an exit.

"It's no use." May sobbed. "We're going to die in here."

Chris looked at her sadly and moved over to put his arms around her. He wished that it wouldn't end like this. He searched his brain for something that would help them. Just then, he remembered when he opened the door, there was no lock, just a heavy chair barricading the door.

"May, does your basement have a lock?" he asked.

"I don't think so, but they're barricading it." She replied.

Chris smiled. "I think we can manage."

Looking around, Chris found the heaviest box he could see and carried it over to the door. May was surprised to see that Chris was so strong. When Chris reached the door, took a deep breath, and hurled the box into the door. It hit with a sickening crash. When the dust cleared, Chris saw that his plan had worked. The door, the box, and whatever that was barricading it was now a pile of wood and splinters on the ground. Chris smiled.

"Come on, lets get outta here."

He took May's hand and the two ran out of the house.

"Where are we going?" May asked.

"I've got a fun hiding spot...we can stay there for a while. They'll hit my house once they find that we've escaped."

May nodded and followed Chris as he led her into the slums.

"You're pretty strong you know." She noted as Chris led her to a empty factory.

"Yeah, well, when you're a wanted felon running away from both the law and crazyassassins, you get a chance to build those muscles."

May just smiled as Chris showed her his old hiding place.

* * *

Citizens lined the streets in the capital city of Bern as a horse drawn cart drove by dragging the Lycian Spy along the gravel rode. The citizens booed the man and threw vegetables and rocks at him as he passed by. As far as their concern, he was the symbol of the country that they hate. To them, the spy was Lycia.

Lycia had gone overboard. The mass development of weapons and sacrilegious science was one thing, but the release of this deadly disease, now approaching Bern soil and Hector's blaming the outbreak on Bern proved the last straw. In reality, it was no longer Bern who was the aggressor as was the fact decades ago, but Lycia, now the dominating, finger-painting bastard.

The cart dragged the prisoner at high speeds across rugged terrain for miles before arriving at the public execution galley. There, the execution strung the prisoner up by an ankle and proceeded to beat the prisoner with a heated iron rod in front of a large hysterical public. The rod made red burn marks all over the man's body. The spy though, gritted his teeth and did not cry out. Then, the executioner put down his rod and brought out a long silver sword and lance. Going over to the prisoner, the executioner could hear loud cheering among the stands and the chant of "kill." He raised his sword and promptly loped off all of the man's limbs save for the one leg that's holding the man up. Then, taking the silver lance, the executioner ripped the man open from the navel to the chops and disemboweled him. It was then that the excruciating pain was too much for the prisoner and he screamed, as he was still alive while being disembowled. But moments later, the man was dead. The executioner swiped off his head and skewered it through the silver lance, holding it up for all of Bern to see.

The cheering was enormous. The execution represented not the death of an enemy spy, but the death of a belligerent nation.

* * *

Many miles away, Florina received Matthew's report. Upon reading it, Florina immediately sent a message to Hector and ordered the ambassadors to Bern to arrange peace talks.

Yet, she knew Matthew was still in peril. Since Matthew had not been able to deliver the message in person, and his message was found off a dead soldier, Florina knew that the spy was definitely captured. With Hector still in Etruria, Florina could do nothing but hope for good news. But she didn't want to wait. Matthew had helped her and her husband more than they could ever ask of him. She needed to rescue him now.

Making up her mind, Florina snuck out that night with a silver lance in hand and mounted her Pegasus. She headed East towards Bern, hoping to save Matthew from his grisly fate.

Little did she know, the Bern border had been closed. Anybody caught going in or out would be shot on sight.

* * *

When she arrived at the Bern border a few days later, she was surprised to find arrows flying at her left and right. Realizing that Bern did not want any intruders, Florina flew higher into the clouds, hoping to avoid the arrows.

The Bern soldiers on the ground saw the Pegasus entering the border. The captain, unaware of who was riding the Pegasus, ordered his musketeers to bring down the intruder. The musket men needed no further encouragement...

Standing by their captain's side,  
with their rifles held up high,  
they did as they were told,  
and fired the shot heard 'round the world.

...Florina survived the shot.

...But she didn't survive the fall.

Her Pegasus was killed by the bullet, and Florina fell, a full 5,000 feet to her death.

* * *

Charlie: ...-sniff- I loved Florina... -sniffle- ...WAHHH! WHY!

Erk: ...pshh, Fanboy...

Charlie: Hey, she's cool! Okay, there, if you've read a Tactician and a Thief, you know I hate Matthew. Well, to keep you guys happy...and to keep the plot going, I had to kill Florina, one of my all time favorite characters. (You'll see why). Well...please review...while I continue to mourn the death of my beloved Florina. -sniffle-


	9. Morbid Uprisings

Charlie: I'mma back. Muahahah! I'm hoping to get as many chapters done before I head off to London on the 26th. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me, even though I may have killed your favorite character in a horrible manner.

Heh, and R. Amythest, May is actually a made up person. I don't know anybody like that. I like your theories though. You're so close... and yes, Katie is Ivanfanatic, and Hitomi is AngelofFate1.

Katharine: Thanks for your kind words, but when I say I don't own FE, I didn't mean I don't own a copy of the game, I meant I'm not the guy who created this thing. Sorry for the confusion.

Well anyways, on with the fic. And I don't own FE.

* * *

_**The Khathlati Strain**_

Chapter 8: Morbid Uprisings

The three Sacaens moved silently across the Northern part of Lycia. Ever since they've left Sacae, the trio has been extremely cautious. The last news out of Lycia was that Khathlati was somehow killing faster and at an extended range. They wanted to be careful.

Arriving at a small hamlet just below the Etrurian border the three weary travelers sought shelter in the local inn. They had been traveling for a long time, and wanted some rest.

The innkeeper was a cheerful old man who gladly gave the three rooms and food. After a hearty dinner, the Sacaens retired to their beds.

Later that evening, Karel woke up in the middle of the night with a very nasty cough.

* * *

Hector left Etruria after over a week of disappointing meetings. Though the Etrurian Council listened to him, it was just a formality. They had absolutely no intention of lifting the slightest finger of what they politely termed "A country whose citizens are slightly confused with their morals." Hector half groaned and half laughed. That corny phrase that he had heard over fifty times the past few days was just code for "You're a bunch of blaspheming sons of bitches and you're all going to go to hell." 

Presently, he and his escort of knights came upon two weary travelers. Hector nearly choked when he saw that it was his old comrades Erk and Priscilla, sneaking into Lycia.

"Hello! What are you two doing there?" Hector shouted to the surprised couple.

"Lord Hector? Why are you here? Don't you have a few meetings with the leaders of Etruria?" Erk replied after catching his breath.

"They weren't interested, said something about confused morals. You know that they weren't going to help me right?"

Erk sighed. "Yes, I would have been very surprised if the council agreed to help you. But, lets not despair. Priscilla and I will accompany you to Ostia and see if we can help in any way possible."

Hector thanked the two for their kindness and the group set off towards Ostia with a steady pace.

* * *

Guy and Rath left the quaint Lycian hamlet alone. Their companion Karel had come down with a very nasty cold. As the pair left the town, they took on look back at their sick friend, who saw them off. They both knew in their hearts that there was a good chance neither of them would see each other ever again. With a wrenching heart, Guy and Rath turned back to the road heading to Ostia, hoping that they weren't to late to help.

* * *

Eliwood paced the halls of Castle Pherae over and over again. He was in deep trouble. His border closings had been too late. Khathlati now rampaged throughout Pherae, discriminating not between the rich and the poor. With the additional influx of refugees, the disease spread even faster, striking areas where humans crowded together like pigs in a pen. 

Now as Eliwood looked out into the landscape, no longer does he see a serene countryside and a peaceful town. He sees the domain of death, and piles upon piles of dead bodies.

And now, even his wife fell to the raging disease. Days earlier, Lyn began to show signs of fatigue and malnutrition. She rapidly lost weight; her skin lost its color and youth. Then, as the days went by, her body shriveled, her health continued to deteriorate until now; she is nothing but a rag doll lying on a bed awaiting her death.

Eliwood wept as memories of the times he shared with his beloved flooded his mind. Her enchanting voice, her soft touch, her tantalizing scent, Lyn was his life; she had bore him a beautiful son. And now because of his incompetence, she was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it.

But Eliwood's woes were far from over. Survivors, those who had miraculously lived through the darkest times of Pherae, now no longer saw a strong leader at the head of their city. Lyndis was their guiding light, their catharsis for their frustrations against her husband. Now that she was on the verge of death, there was nothing to stop them from overthrowing the crown.

Eliwood held Lyn's hand up until her last breath left her body. He could never have known of the crowd of maniacal survivors ringing his castle...

Until he heard the ground shaking blast that blew the door to his castle into splinters.

It was then when Eliwood knew that he would die.

* * *

When Hector, Erk and Priscilla arrived at Ostia, they could tell from the atmosphere that something bad had happened. The city was sullen and looked as if it was in mourning. Hector wondered why everyone would act this way; he would soon find out... 

When he arrived at the castle, Hector wanted to settle Erk and Priscilla into some guesthouses. However, when he entered the courtyard, he found his daughter, along with Eliwood's son Roy, the two princesses from Khathelet, Serra, Oswin and a group of people from his court crying around two caskets. Looking around, Hector found no sign of his wife...that's when he got scared of who he would encounter in the caskets. When Lilina looked up at him with puffy eyes, Hector knew in his heart who was in one of the caskets.

Erk and Priscilla strode ahead of the frozen Marquess to see who was dead. When they saw the names of the person in the casket, the two gave an audible gasp before giving a sympathetic look to Hector. The two watched as Lilina slowly approached her father and fell into his arms crying. Hector was no better. Everyone stood in silent respect as the husband and daughter of Florina cried, grieving over her death.

* * *

Fiora had heard about the deadly Khathlati disease in Lycia, but she was too bogged down in her own work to help struggling families in Ilia to be much of a help. She thought of her sister, who was now the Marchioness of Ostia. Fiora hoped that Florina would pull through. Her husband was an able leader, a bit thickheaded, but far from incompetent. 

She was about to sit down to dinner when her front door blew open. Fiora jumped out of her seat to see what was happening. In the doorway stood her other sister Farina. Fiora relaxed a little, knowing of Farina's explosive manner, but she still was uneasy. Farina was usually cheerful, bouncy, unable to stop cracking jokes. But today, she stood solemnly at the doorway. Fiora could've sworn she saw a tear going down her cheek.

"Farina?" Fiora said, breaking the awkward silence. "What's wrong?"

"...Sh-...she's dead..." Farina stuttered as more tears flowed from her eyes.

Fiora froze. "...she?...Who's she?" Fiora asked; though she had a strong feeling that she already know who had died.

"...Our baby sister...Florina...she was shot down over Bern when she apparently was trying to rescue one of Hector's spies. Her Pegasus was killed and...and..." Farina trailed off, her grief taking her completely.

Fiora could not believe her ears. Their shy little sister, the one who would never even dare to offend anyone, was dead.

"...It...it can't be true." Fiora said with a shaky voice. "It...just can't be..."

Farina nodded her head sadly, it was true. She held out a letter from Ostia.

As Fiora read the letter, grief overwhelmed her, and she collapsed into her sister's arms.

The two cried their hearts out late into the night.

* * *

"Hector, that is insanity!" Oswin said firmly. 

What remained of Hector's court after the deaths of Florina and Matthew sat around a table with Erk and Priscilla, discussing Lycia's next move.

"They killed my wife and they executed my friend. I want those troops over the border by next week!" The marquess yelled.

"HECTOR!" Oswin shouted back. "Just listen please! What you're doing is wrong! According to Matthew's report, Bern had nothing to do with Khathlati. We should be trying to find peace with that country, not send troops in there to kill every man, woman and child! Be reasonable now!"

"Hector..." Erk said calmly. "Think about it. Even if you do scramble the troops, what are you going to do? The border between Lycia and Bern is a full blown hot zone. You surely don't intend to march an army through that death trap do you?"

Hector finally calmed down a bit. His judgment was a bit shaken from the grief he suffered over the loss of his wife and Matthew.

"...fine..." He conceded. "But you can't expect me to let Florina and Matthew die in vain!"

"Hector, the Bern Government apologized for the deaths. The conceded that their demands made them suspicious, and they asked for peace. Right now, instead of going in and killing more people, lets find a way to stop Khathlati. You're fighting a damn war with something we can't even see! You don't need another full blown military operatoin to take resources from research!" Oswin reasoned.

Grumbling, Hector agreed. "Fine... by the way, what is the status on Khathlati?"

"Well..." Oswin began. "The KBI have developed about 23 theories, all of them died in experiment. The Ryerde Research Institute is undergoing a crisis now..."

"Wait, what crisis." Hector asked.

"Well, Dr. Liang was pardoned as you were informed by post."

Hector nodded. "Yes...go on."

"About a day or so ago, he left one evening leaving a note that he was going to his colleague's house for dinner. They found his house on fire the next day and his colleague's house ransacked. No bodies have been found but the two scientists are missing."

Hector sighed. "Christ, do you think that we were wrong about him being innocent?"

Oswin shook his head. "No, as far as we know, he and his colleague was attacked during their meal. We found blood on the ground, and a basement door broken down. There was a big conflict in that house that would've involved more than two people. The Ryerde police suspect that somebody is hiring assassins to kill Dr. Liang, though we don't know the reasons why, the assassin dagger found in the house confirms that theory."

Hector nodded thoughtfully. "In any case, I want the man and his friend questioned if they ever find him. Is our science department doing anything?"

Oswin nodded. "Yes, we have been researching blood samples of victims of Khathlati, but our data is insufficient, and the bacteria is too erratic to produce results. We have a refugee scientist from Khathelet doing the primary research. He's been very helpful, but still, our lack of data and information is proving to be our Achilles heel."

"Meaning?" Hector asked.

"Meaning we've got nothi-"

Just then, a guard burst into the room. "Sorry for disturbing you sir, but we've found a multiple homicide."

The room tensed. Hector stood andlooked at the guard. "What? Where?"

"While doing patrol rounds, we found a family, apparantely murdered in their sleep near the suburbs."

"What?" Hector exclaimed. "Are you sure they weremurderedson?"

The guard nodded. "Yes, because they were stabbed to death."

Hector tensed visually. "Do you know anybody who might cause this?"

The guard shook his head. "No sir...but I know it was nothing personal. I believe that this family was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time. The murderer was looking for someone, but apparantely he didn't know where his or her target lived. Our murderer killed an entire block of twenty families."

The tension in the room suddenly skyrocketed... an entire block, murdered.

"...Can you identify any of the victims?" Hector asked shakily.

"Mostly civilians…" the guard said. "But I think we know who this person was trying to kill."

"Who?" Hector asked.

"Dr. Brian Wu." The man said. "He was found with twenty nine stab wounds in his back. His wife was unmarked, but she was foaming at the mouth so we suspect poison. His young son and infant daughter were drowned in the bathtub. Plastered to the head of Dr. Wu was a note."

"Well, what did it read?" Hector asked impatiently.

The guard handed Hector a piece of paper with a scribbled note.

"'Those who mettle in the affair of God will parish by their own blasphemous creations. Take this man's death as a warning... signed, St. Elimine...'" Hector read outloud. "Blasphemous creations? Does this person mean Khathlati?"

"I think so..." Serra piped up. Everyone jumped at her voice. Ever since Matthew's mutilated body had been returned, the feisty cleric had been unusually silent. "Dr. Wu was the head of our bacteriology department. He was developing a treatment for Khathlati."

"He was involved in the Agricultural Bacterium Experiment at the Khathlati Biomedical Institute." Oswin added in a quiet tone.

It was then when they figured out something important...

"Ladies and Gentlemen..." Hector said grimly to the people gathered at the meeting. "We're up against a religious conspiratorial son of a bitch."

Nobody disagreed with him.

* * *

Eliwood was cornered. After Lyn's funeral, swarms of deranged people laid siege his castle. His guards fought valiantly to defend him, but it was no use. No matter how skilled, a small group of guards cannot hold off thousands of people. He and his guards were overwhelmed. Now Eliwood was the only one alive, and his hunters were close by. He knew these people wanted blood...and he knew it was onlya matter of time before they got blood. 

As time passed, Eliwood noticed that the commotion died down in his castle. He wondered if the mob had retreated for the night. Taking a risk, Eliwood stepped from the darkness, hoping that it wasn't a trap.

...it was...

As soon as Eliwood stepped into the light, a sharp scythe sliced through his neck and his lifeless body hit the ground seconds after his head did.

The peasant who sliced his head grabbed it by the hair and held it up for his comrades to see. Then he produced a small cup to catch the blood dripping from Eliwood's severed head. After catching a goblet full, the man pulled the cup to his lips and drank.

...The man's eyes were two pools of pure white...he had no pupils.

* * *

Chris and May were bored out of their wits. There was nothing to do where they were but to tell stories, but after spending over a day in hiding, the pair was running out of stories to tell. So the two sat there and waited for something to happen. Chris wasn't exactly sure how long they needed to stay in hiding, but he knew that it had to be at least a day or two. 

As bored as May was, she found herself developing feelings the man she had hated before. After learning the truth, he was no longer the murderous madman that she thought he was, but a kind and caring man. A bit apathetic at times, but he was still charming in his own way. She found the warehouse where they were hiding out an interesting place. She was amazed that Chris managed to hide from the authorities for so long in such a place.

Chris was very fascinated with May, as bored as he was. He was taken with the story of her childhood. How she managed to become a scientist in spite of growing up in the frigid snowfields of Ilia. She had excelled at many subjects, and managed to get a scholarship to a university in Ostia. She was the first Ilian Chris met, who isn't, and was never, a mercenary.

The weather outsidegot worse and worse. Dark storm clouds ominously covered the city, getting ready for a huge thunderstorm. Chris began getting nervous about the weather, knowing from past experience that the warehouse leaks during storms.

As night began to fall, Chris and May went into the deepest part of the warehouse, where Chris had set up two shaky cots against the wall. After taking turns washing up and changing, the two runaways lay down on their beds and fell into a deep slumber.

A bit after midnight, May woke up to a start to the loud clap of thunder from the raging storm outside. Though she was from Ilia and snowstorms raged daily in her childhood, she found herself scared by the thunder caused by the growing thundershower outside. Creeping out of bed, she snuck over and snuggled herself into Chris' cot, finding comfort with his warm body heat. She smiled and sighed happily when Chris instinctively wrapped his arms around her, mumbling about a teddy bear. May blushed but found that she didn't mind his being so close to her. She felt warm and safe in his arms.

May was falling in love at a freakishly fast pace...

And yet she couldn't be happier...

* * *

Kiyoko, Audrey and Christine apprehensively entered a nondescript building they were instructed to go to. There, waiting for them, was their intriguing employer. 

"So..." his rasping voice rang out. "You've failed again I see..."

The three nodded.

Charlie looked up at them. He was the same as the last meeting: disheveled and maniacal looking. His bloodshot eyes bore into the three like a pair of sharp swords.

"I told you three that there would be consequences if I didn't see his head by today."

Gulping, the three girls nodded their heads. Charlie pulled a small pistol from behind his back.

"But since I still need work done, only one of you shall die. Now lets see how this miniature version of a musket works."

The man fumbled with the pistol before aiming it at the girls. "Now who don't I like?"

The girls gulped as the man in front of them smiled and pulled the trigger.

Kiyoko and Audrey walked out of the warehouse later, visibly shaken. They had new orders to go to Ostia. As they watched their employer leave from a side door, Kiyoko wondered if this new job would get her and Audrey killed.

That thought stuck with her as the pair traveled to Ostia... both began to have second thoughts about working for their insane employer.

* * *

Charlie: ...I know I wouldn't work for myself... sheesh, talk about insane... whoo...I need some time in the nuthouse. Er... anyways. Yeah, interesting chapter. Didn't exactly think it was my best, but meh, I'm near dead from the crap that's going on. Well, please review! 

And as I finish fixing every last apostrophe and Elipses in this fic, I must say that I freaking HATE quickedit. The more they tinker with this thing, the worse it gets. Come on people at FIX THIS WORTHLESS THING AND THEN JUST STOP MESSING WITH IT!


	10. Hope and Dispair

Charlie: Hello, yeah, sorry for the EXTREME lack of updates for this. Anyways, I had AP exams so don't kill me…please? Anyways. This fic is gonna take a twist in this chapter and start heading towards the end. So thanks for sticking with me and umm, enjoy.

* * *

_**Hope and Dispair**_

The assassin pair meandered around the cemetery. The entire city of Ostia was mourning the death of a leading scientist, and his wife and kids. As they stood witness to the burial, they wondered why so many officials of the upper governmental echelons were present. Presently, Audrey bumped into the Mage General of Etruria and his wife.

"Oh sorry sir." She quickly apologized.

"It's okay…" The purple haired man said solemnly. "It's rough on all of us."

Audrey didn't have any words so she nodded her head.

"Umm…if you don't mind me asking…why is the Mage General of Etruria at a funeral for a Lycian Scientist?" Audrey asked.

"Good question…" Erk replied. "It's a long story, but nobody knows that the wife of the man was the tactician of Lord Eliwood's armies during that struggle with Nergal."

"What!" Audrey said shocked.

"She hid herself well, but in the end, I guess someone noticed her." Erk said.

"Ahh…" Audrey said thoughtfully.

Just then, Kiyoko yanked Audrey roughly away and lead her towards where the graves were being filled.

"OW! Hey what's the rush?" Audrey asked trying to gain her balance.

"HIM!" Kiyoko said pointing to a man whose face was streaked with tears.

"So? That's just some relative…holy…Elimine…" Audrey noticed who was crying. "Is it really him?"

"If it is…then he changed…" Kiyoko said.

The crying man stood up and walked silently away from the graves, now completely filled. He turned and Audrey saw a clear view of his face.

"Dude, he looks different." Audrey said.

"He's no longer scary beyond all reason?" Kiyoko offered.

"Yeah, that. So…any ideas?" Audrey said.

"None whatsoever. Plus I'm almost positive that he killed the scientist." Kiyoko said.

"What!" Audrey said incredulously. "Whoever killed those two also killed an entire block of people! If he could do that, why would he hire us!"

"But think about it." Kiyoko said. "He disappears for a couple of days saying he had some business he needed to take care of in Ostia, then when he comes back, these people are dead."

"But his own relative?" Audrey asked. "No man is that heartless."

"I'm not sure if he is a man anymore…" Kiyoko said. "I have a bad feeling about working for him."

"Well, what can we do?" Audrey asked. "It's either stick it through the end or he kills us. Either way, we'd probably die. At least the militia is less efficient than he would be."

"No, we could turn ourselves in." Kiyoko said.

"Hell no!" Audrey said fiercely. "I don't want to go to prison! We're ASSASSINS Kiyo, we'd be on death row faster than I could trip!"

"No…we offer to help catch the culprit…assassins have to be hired." Kiyoko said.

"We'd still go to prison." Audrey said.

"I'd rather go to prison, then get tortured to death by that man. At least the Ostian Militia grants us our Miranda Rights." Kiyoko said. "That man probably won't hesitate to rape, torture or in any other way make our deaths as gruesome and painful as possible."

"…I hope you're right Kiyo." Audrey said.

"I know I am. Now lets get some rest. We'll go tonight."

The two assassins silently filed away. Across the courtyard, a tear streaked pair of eyes followed the two, the owner of the eyes wonder why the two looked so familiar.

* * *

Rath and Guy arrived at the Ostian court right after the funeral services. Hector welcomed them warmly. Unfortunately, the pleasantries had to be kept to a minimum. The country still faced a biological terror. Hector had to unfortunately call a complete quarantine with cooperation from the Bern army. The hot zone where the virus raged was now officially a restricted zone. Anyone caught trying to go in or out would be shot on sight without warning, and have their bodies burned by flaming arrows.

"The Northern Territories are still safe." Guy reported. "As far as I know, Tania is as far as the virus went. You quarantine is working Hector."

"Yeah, but we can't keep this up forever." Hector noted.

"Yes." Priscilla clarified. "Unless we find a cure, we must keep the citizens inside…and let them die out."

"I still don't get it." Erk said. "None of it makes sense. This virus should've ran out of hosts the minute you stopped food shipments from Khathelet. I couldn't have just suddenly gone airborne. And even if it did, it wouldn't have traveled THAT far in that short amount of time. From what happened to Heath, I assume there were virus particles just floating above Tania airspace. That doesn't make sense."

"Nothing makes sense right now." Serra said. "We need to find the source… otherwise none of the healers can do anything about this."

Just then, a guard interrupted. "Sirs, there's a pair of young girls outside wanting to turn themselves in for some kind of murder. They're demanding to talk to you, said it was important."

"What? I don't have time to play games." Hector said. "Send them away."

"No wait!" Priscilla said. "Lets hear them out. Maybe they can help us."

"Murder? We're talking a bioterrorist out there!" Hector raged.

"No! Don't you remember? The mysterious murders related to the scientists in charge of the projects?" Priscilla said.

"Oh…" Hector remembered. "Hmm… okay, lets here what they have to say, since we aren't going anywhere anyways."

Silently, the guards led two shackled young girls into the room. Neither looked a day over seventeen.

"So…what is your story?" Hector asked.

The girls looked at each other, and told their story, a wild tale of murder and madmen, and a religious crusader. As the girls told their story, things began to piece together for the council seated at Ostia.

"…so, you're telling me that you murdered Khathelet scientists and attempted to do so to others as well?" Hector asked at the end. "And you're telling me that your employer was some mad religious nut trying to 'eradicate' the evils of science?"

Audrey and Kiyoko nodded.

"Tell me, what was the name of your employer again?" Hector asked.

The two young assassins looked at each other. "Charlie Wu." They repeated loudly in unison.

The sharp intake of breath by everyone seated was heard by all.

"Ladies…. you're accusing the brother of the murdered scientist we buried today of being a bioterrorist." Hector said. "That man is another respected member of the scientific community before his wife died a year ago and he retired. If you're wrong, both of you would be drawn and quartered for treason."

Audrey and Kiyoko nodded. "We are well aware of that. But in our minds, we have no doubt that this man is the culprit."

"If you are sure." Hector said. "I think we need to discuss this further. Erk, Priscilla, you take these ladies and interrogate them. The rest of us will find out how to deal with the accusation."

Without emotion, Erk gestured for the two assassins to enter a side room. Priscilla followed behind and closed the door.

"So, you realize what you're doing?" Erk asked. "Murder is a serious crime here. As is attempted murder. There is a chance that you both would go on the gallows."

The girls gulped.

"However." Erk said. "Since you accused an upstanding citizen, we must determine the veracity of your claims. But right now, you're either going in for treason or murder. I suggest you make it easy by telling the truth."

Audrey and Kiyoko nodded.

"Okay, first of all, why do you accuse this man?"

Audrey answered first. "Well, he was the man who employed us. He explicitly told us his name was Charlie Wu."

"And, the fact that he disappeared to Ostia right when his brother was murdered." Kiyoko added.

"Interesting. And the fact that it could've been a coincidence never occurred to you two?" Erk asked.

"It did…but it was too unlikely. The man gave off an evil aura when we met with him. Different from the mourning man earlier today. He was…old, cracked, mad, insane…scary beyond all reason." Audrey replied.

Erk sat there for a long time. "Hmm… okay….here's the deal." Erk said when he finally spoke. "I see no malice inside of you, so I will assume you're telling me the truth. I will advise Hector to at least investigate. But however, you my friends, have two paths to choose."

"They are?" The girls asked.

"Either you go to prison for a long time, or help us catch him and then go to prison for a long time, but you two do so feeling better about yourselves." Erk said.

"…it's a lose-lose situation." Kiyoko commented.

"No choice girls. I wish it were the other way. But anyways, will you help us? I might be able to get you two out of a long sentence if you do."

After a while, both girls nodded. "Yes."

"Good…now unfortunately, I have to keep you here at the castle for tonight. I'll see to it you get comfortable beds." Erk said.

"That would be nice…" Audrey smiled.

* * *

"So, what do you think Erk?" Hector asked later when he met Erk in secret.

"I don't think they're lying." Erk said. "I think the older Dr. Wu may be leading a double life."

"This is insane. How could that man do that? They were his only family!" Hector said.

"I don't know…but I also suspect himbecaues I feel he's also involved in the Khathlati business." Erk said.

"Oh Elimine!" Hector said. "Why?"

"Simple… he was related to the deaths, kidnappings and attempted deaths of all the scientists working on Khathlati." Erk explained. "Plus… his wife died a year ago."

"What does she have to do with this?" Hector asked.

"Easy…" Erk said. "Charlie obviously didn't start out as a mad killer. His first kill, his wife, was his biggest blunder."

"How so?"

"Remember? She died a year ago right when Khathlati was spreading. And the way she died? 29 stab wounds to the back? Do you not see a pattern?" Erk asked.

"…stab wounds to the back?"

"Three people had died that way, all connected to him and Khathlati." Erk said. "Hector, face the facts, he's loaded with shady details."

Hector sighed. "Did the girls agree to help us?"

"Yeah…"

"Okay, we're paying Dr. Wu a visit tomorrow. If this is true, then may St. Elimine help us all." Hector said.

"No…if it is true." Erk said. "Then Elibe may already be doomed."

* * *

Audrey and Kiyoko slept fitfully that night. The next morning, they went to the audience chamber to accept punishment.

Hector sat on his throne. The seat on his right was empty, though a ornate lance rested against it.

"You two." Hector said without preamble. "Are arrested for the charges of murder, attempted murder, and obstruction of justice. However, if you assist us in the capture of the real culprit, your charges will be lessened. Will you do it?"

The girls both nodded their heads.

"Okay." Hector said. "You will go with a small strike force I assembled. Meet then in the briefing chamber in thirty minutes. May Elimine help you."

With that, the girls were ushered out of the room.

In the briefing chamber, Kiyoko and Audrey met with their interrogators from last night, Erk and Priscilla, as well as two Sacaen plainsmen named Rath and Guy, as well as the cleric Serra.

"Okay…you two go in first. We'll cover you rear." Erk finished explaining the details of the search. "If we find anything suspicious, my warp stave will teleport Guy to the nearby militia force set aside. We will then take this man. Be careful though, there is no telling what he may or may not do. Good luck everyone, God Speed."

The briefing ended and everyone prepared to leave.

The travel wasn't that long. Charlie's residence was just on the outskirts of Ostia. It was a small laboratory like building. There was an eerie silence about the place. As the force walked into the house, everyone drew their respective weapons.

The living room was pillaged beyond a state of recognition, as was every room the force came to. It was obvious that something bad happened at the place.

"Looks like you two were right…" Erk mumbled softly.

Then they came upon the door to the basement. Slowly, cautiously, Audrey turned the knob, and the team filed down into the basement.

The basement was layered into three levels as marked by a map on one of the stairwells. The first level looked like a massive organic garden, growing various exotic plants. The group didn't find anything in the first level.

However, the second level was much more suspicious. The room was filled with cabinets of files and vials of deadly looking liquid.

"Any of this look familiar to anyone?" Erk asked.

"None of us are scientists moron!" Serra replied back. "Lets keep moving. Something's fishy here."

Just then, they heard a thud from the back. Everyone tensed and gripped their weapons. They slowly moved to the back of the laboratory. There, they found a huge burlap sack filled with something moving inside. Cautiously, Kiyoko poked it with the hilt of her dagger.

The lump in side the duffel responded by moaning something. Kiyoko recognized the sound to be human.

"It's a person! Get him out!" She cried.

Quickly, the team untied the duffel bag and looked inside. Lying inside, bound and gagged, was a thin emaciated man with dark hair and intelligent eyes.

"Holy…it's the missing researcher from Khathelet...he was supposed to be dead!" Serra muttered.

Quickly they untied him and took out the gag. The man was thin, but he still had sufficient energy. His captive clearly tried to keep him alive. Wasting no words, the man pointed towards the stairs.

"Get out! Before he finds you!" He croaked.

The team was at a loss for action when a cold piercing voice rang out.

"So…you discovered my little secret. Hehehe…how amusing."

From behind one of the shelves, a robed man with blood shot eyes and gray streaked hair stepped forward.

"Pity that you'll die soon though." The man said.

"Charlie…" Kiyoko gasped.

"Ahh Kiyoko." Charlie said. "But then, this was expected. I knew you would turn from me."

"You…how could you?" Audrey asked. "Your brother! Your sister-in-law! Your nephews and nieces! Why!"

"And your wife!" Erk said. "You killed you own wife! Why are you doing all of this?"

"SILENCE!" Charlie bellowed. "You have no need to know of my plans."

"No, because you're under arrest." Serra said. "For murder in the first degree, treason, and threatening the security of the Lycian League."

"Hahahahahahaha." Charlie laughed. "This is a joke right? There IS no League! There is nothing but sinners and hellspawn in this land!"

"You're the sinner here!" Erk spat. "A man who killed his own kin to meet his ends. How could you do this? Do you know how many people are dying and suffering because of you?"

"Because of me?" Charlie said. "That is a laugh. This land was meant to be purged, so only the perfect, the devout would be left!"

"You're a madman!" Guy shouted.

"That I may be." Charlie said, and then he turned his bloodshot eye towards the group. "But I am a man doing the will of the Gods! Elimine's teachings were blatently ignored in this land. I am determined to purge it. And today, I shall start with you infidels!"

Suddenly, the man flashed six knives and flung it with deadly accuracy towards the group.

"SCATTER!" Kiyoko yelled before diving to the ground. Around her, people threw their bodies left and right to avoid the knives. Then Kiyoko heard an agonizing scream, and a terrible screech of despair.

"PRISCILLA!"

Kiyoko knew what happened and moments later; the trickle of blood that flowed across her vision confirmed her thought.

Picking herself from the floor, Kiyoko saw Priscilla's body, with the knife though her throat. Feeling a surge of anger, she looked around for the bastard responsible. Her eyes found the footprints on the dirty floor. Without thinking, she followed them. Behind her, she heard Erk's pounding footsteps and his war cry.

It was at that moment when Kiyoko knew that Charlie was going to die, one way or another.

* * *

The Ostian Militia surrounded the dank laboratory that was Charlie's house. They waited eagerly for any news from the strike team sent in. Suddenly, Serra appeared holding a warp stave and a emaciated man.

"Hurry!" Serra cried. "He's attacking us! Priscilla's already been…"

Serra choked in her sobs. The commander of the militia nodded and readied his men for attack.

"No!" The emaciated man yelled. "Don't!"

"What? Why?" The commander asked.

"You…can't go in there…" The man said. "His entire third floor is filled with rows upon rows of vials filled with every form of Khathlati you could imagine…one slip…and Ostia will be gone."

"Well then…what can we do!" The commander asked. "We need a solution right now!"

"There is none." The man replied. "If the strike team inside can't kill him…then the world will be lost."

"Elimine…" The commander swore. "It was supposed to be a simple mission."

"Unfortunately…you're fighting against a increasingly complex enemy…" the man managed before falling into unconsciousness. The commander looked to Serra for answers.

"Do as he says…all we can do now is wait. I doubt your entire force would be able to fit." Serra said.

"…the world is on the brink of destruction and all we can do is wait?"

"Unfortunately…things have a nasty knack for working out like this."

* * *

Charlie: Yeah, cliffhanger. If you can't tell, next chapter, it ends, and then the epilogue. I'll let you guys vote for who wins. Kiyoko and Erk, or Charlie.

Erk: Pick me!

Charlie: No, come on! Pick the evil dude! Anyways, yeah, review?


	11. Spring

Charlie: Hey. I wanna get this thing finished as fast as I can so yeah, I'm sick of looking at quick edit by now. Anyways, the last chapter before the epilogue (Which would be the most uneventful chapter of this fic, and finally, a break from deaths.) This would probably be the ONLY chapter where things actually try to flow together. Some stuff gets cleared, and if you know enough about bioweapons, Khathlati isn't acting like one, so that explains that. Anyways, enjoy, and I decided to let Kiyoko and Erk win…because well…just because.

Erk: Because you-

Charlie: You will shut up before I inflict great bodily harm upon your mind and body.

Erk: goit…and he doesn't own FE.

* * *

_**Spring**_

Chris sat back in his chair and gave a long sigh. It was the third day he and May had spent in hiding. Unfortunately, it was getting very boring. He looked over to May. The young doctor was sprawled out on the ground, staring at the clouds through a small window in the warehouse ceiling. She had somehow found a feather and was blowing it up into the air over and over again.

Chris sighed, and the day dragged on. A cloud hung lazily in the clouds. As time ticked on, he began to frantically think about something to do before he dies of boredom.

Then he remembered the makeshift lab he had set up. Hoping beyond all hope, Chris got up and moved into a secret back room where he had set up a poor excuse for a chemical lab, but it served it's purpose well. Looking in, all the dirty vials he had were still intact. Smiling, Chris ran out and grabbed at May.

"May! Come quick!" Chris said.

"Ugh…what?" May said dully.

"I remembered, I have a small lab in the back with Khathlati samples." Chris said excitedly.

May's eyes instantly widened. "What! Isn't it dangerous?"

"Nah." Chris explained. "Before the real Khathlati got loose, I kept a few samples of the benign agriculture strains in my basement. These are harmless to humans, but still have the genetic makeup of the virus. Since there's nothing else we can do, lets go play with it. Maybe we'll get a breakthrough."

May shrugged. It sounded iffy to her, but she was too bored to care.

"All right, but we're more likely gonna kill ourselves before we get anywhere." May said getting up.

"Well, we'll never know until we try." Chris said leading her into the back.

May nearly choked when she saw the pitiful excuse for a lab. There were two tables, one holding a rack of three dirty test tubes, and the other holding lab equipment. There was a mini-well to one side for water and a torch for heating and burning. All the equipment looked older than the scouring.

"Chris…not to be pessimistic here…but how did you not kill yourself in this thing before?"

"Hey!" Chris said. "I worked hard into putting this lab together! It'll hold."

May was still skeptical about the reliability of the lab, but as the pair worked with the meager amount of samples, her unease began to dissipate. As shabby as the lab looked, its equpiment was amazingly durable, surviving constant bangings, burnings and smashings.

The pair worked for hours providing little to no results. Soon, by nightfall, the meager amount of samples Chris had left was down to one dropper full. The two sighed and decided to give up.

Suddenly, May noticed something in one of the mixing bowls. There was some kind of unnatural growth.

"Chris…" May said tugging his sleeve.

"What?" Chris said tiredly.

"I think we got something."

May dragged Chris to the bowl and had him examine the solid growth inside.

"Ugh…looks like fecal matter to me." Chris said making a face.

"Take a sample!" May said.

Reluctantly, Chris took a small scoop and put into a sample bag.

"Okay, now what?" Chris said. "There's no way we can run tests on this thing. We just have something that looks like crap in a bag now. Whoop-de-doo."

May sighed. It was painfully true that they had absolutely nothing in terms of equipment. Then she got an idea.

"Try dropping some into that last bit of Khathlati." May suggested.

Chris shrugged. "Okay, not like that little bit is gonna do much anyways."

Taking a small scoop, Chris dropped a bit of the growth into the sample of Khathlati. Suddenly, a fizzing was herd and the two watched in awe as the brown material burned through the sample, leaving nothing but a film of white on top of the broth Chris grew the bacteria in.

"…Are those…dead Khathlati particles?" Chris asked.

May looked at it. "Looks like it…" She said. "Do you think…"

Chris and May looked at the brownish growth Chris had in the bag and in the mixing bowl.

"I think we're on to something." Chris said.

Then, without thinking, Chris and May recovered the notes on what made the growth, took a few samples, and dashed out of the warehouse for the Medical Research Center, risking that the assassins weren't lying in wait for them.

Back in Ostia, Hector raged about his throne room in a fury as the now rejuvenated Scientist Dr. Pan revealed that the rogue Ostian Scientist Dr. Charlie Wu had about five thousand samples of deadly pathogenic particles in his basement. Next to Hector, Serra tried frantically to calm him down.

"Hector!" Serra pleaded. "Our force is still in there. It's five against one, we'll win."

Hector turned towards the pink haired cleric and calmed down a bit. "For the world's sake Serra, I hope you're right."

"Umm, your highness." Dr. Patric interrupted.

"What?" Hector snapped.

"There's something else about Charlie that you should know." The man said nerviously.

Hector tensed. That phrase has yet to lead to good news.

Kiyoko stormed after Charlie down flight after flight of stairs. Seemingly after the second level, the basement went all the way into the core of the ground before opening up into a huge storeroom.

Kiyoko froze the minute she stepped into this room. Around her, shelf after shelf of vials of liquid marked "Khathlati Strain" stood menacingly, taunting her with the liquid death they carried. As she tried to recover from the shock, a body suddenly slammed into her.

"OW!" Kiyoko cried as she hit the ground.

"OOF!" The voice of the man that crashed into her responded. "Sorry 'bout that."

Kiyoko saw the familiar purple hair of Erk and relaxed a bit.

"Where's the others?" She asked.

Erk tensed up a bit. "Carrying…umm…her out."

Kiyoko nodded. She knew it must be hard for Erk. Cautiously, the duo crept into the third floor of the basement, careful not to bump into anything. Around them, the bubbling liquid death changed colors and intensities as they moved from shelf to shelf, indicating a different mode of killing. As they advanced into the core of the room, both began to feel very uneasy.

The underground vault was expansive, and it took a good ten minutes before Kiyoko and Erk reached another door in the back. By that time, both figured it had been a few good hours since they set out for what everyone first thought was a routine search. Stopping at the door, Kiyoko suggested that they get some rest before they move further. Erk nodded his head and the two slumped to the floor, taking turns sleeping and looking out for any unwanted visitors.

Upstairs, Rath ventured back into the basement after he helped Guy and Audrey carry out Priscilla's body. The three had tried their best to clean her up and wrap her in a clean cloak. They did a pretty good job, but the hideous wound in her neck still showed. Audrey and Guy stayed behind to help the militia carry her body back to Ostia. Rath then ordered everyone to move at least five to ten miles further away from the house, and ready cannons. He told the commander that if he didn't surface in two days, they should blow the house into bits and burn the ruins. The commander reluctantly agreed and Rath ran back into the house.

Now he worked his way down the seemingly endless third flight of stairs, he only hoped that it wasn't too late to help out.

Rath's reaction to the final level of the basement paralleled that of Erk and Kiyoko's. He stood in shock for a while before shaking it off and dashing towards the other end. Trusting his honed reflexes from living in the plains, Rath dashed quickly towards the other end with no fear of knocking anything over.

Arriving at the other end, he found two slumped figures next to an ominous door. Approaching cautiously, he found Erk and Kiyoko heaped on the ground, both with their eyes closed. Rath gasped in horror and ran up to the two, thinking that they were dead. He relaxed when he found out that they were just sleeping and decided to wake them up.

"Ugh…just another minute." Kiyoko moaned as Rath shook her lightly.

"Leave me alone…" Erk mumbled as Rath shook him as well.

Left with no choice, Rath took a canteen from his belt and dumped water on the two. The effect was instant as both got up screaming to high heaven.

"RATH!" Kiyoko yelled as she figured out what he did. "Don't scare me like that!"

Rath chuckled at their puffed faces but then soon got serious.

"Come on…" He said. "Lets go before Charlie gets bored."

Kiyoko and Erk nodded and opened the door cautiously, aware that what lied behind it would not hesitate to send them to their graves.

"WHAT!" Hector screamed. "HE'S WHAT!"

"He's not human." Patric explained again. "The man is a five hundred year old fallen cleric of the Elimine order. After being kicked from the order for misguided actions, he sealed himself away five hundred years ago and swore one day to come back and take his revenge against the infidels who turned from St. Elimine."

"Dear…God…" Hector said dejectedly. "We're dealing with a monster here?"

"Simply put, yes." Patric said.

Hector looked gravely from the scientist before him to the pink haired cleric next to him.

"Guys…" He said. "Come pray with me."

Hector then lead the two into the Chapel of St. Elimine behind the main castle. He walked to the alter, knelt down and prayed.

Behind him, Serra and Patric exchanged grave looks and they too knelt down and prayed.

Erk raised a torch stave and peered into the room. It was miniscule compared to the storehouse on the other side. A simple shelf of books stood to the side and a desk dominated the center. Behind the desk, a large chair with the back turned towards the door sat.

"So…" An ominous voice rang out. "You're finally here. I was worried that you weren't going to show."

The chair swiveled and Erk, Rath and Kiyoko were once again met with the demented face of the madman.

"I assume you enjoyed your tour of my underground vault?" Charlie asked in his eerie voice.

"No…" Kiyoko managed squeak. The two men stayed deathly silent.

"No?" Charlie asked in mock disappointment. "What a pity." His mouth curved into an evil smile. "Oh Kiyoko." Charlie said standing up. "You were going to be one of the survivors, but then you turned your back on me and cast in with Hector's lot." Charlie sneered gesturing at Erk and Rath. "Little do you know of the glory you've given up."

"I'd rather die then live in your twisted world." Kiyoko said.

"Is that so?" Charlie said. "Tell me, what's the difference? In my world, people die, but the survivors live on with their hearts and actions dedicated to St. Elimine and her teachings. In yours, nobody dies, but everyone lives in sin and neglect of the religion that has given the human race salvation."

"…" none of the three could give a response.

"I see my point was driven through." Charlie said softly.

"But…" Erk said. "Why? Killing isn't the answer to solving things! Elimine didn't teach that violence was the way!"

"Really?" Charlie asked. "Now tell me, if that was the case, why did she take up arms against the dragons? If your Elimine was as pacifist as you say, why did she fight?"

"Because we were being threatened!" Erk retorted.

"Were we?" Charlie said smiling slyly. "If I recall correctly, humans FELT that the dragons were a threat and THEY initiated the scouring."

"…"

Charlie threw his head back and laughed. "Oh Mage General." He said. "You have been so misguided by the corruption around you."

"But… Elimine didn't initiate a genocide to get her point across!" Kiyoko argued. "Why are you doing this?"

"Yes…" Charlie said. "Elimine didn't do what I did, but Elimine didn't have to deal with a group of infidels. Her disciples were pure of heart. The lot I have to deal with however, is not."

"But it doesn't make sense!" Rath said. "If you're so into Elimine, why are you a scientist!"

Charlie threw his head back again and laughed. "You really think I'm a scientist?"

"Everyone here knows you're a scientist Charlie." Kiyoko said.

"Hehe…" Charlie said. "You're right. Charlie IS a scientist. But I am not Charlie."

"WHAT?" The three cried in unison.

"Perhaps it's better if I showed you." Charlie said and he lifted his arms, reciting an ancient incantation.

Immediately, lightning and smoke began to fill the room. Erk and Rath quickly grabbed Kiyoko and shielded her in a corner. The three watched in horror as the body of the man standing in front of them fell away into a heap. Kiyoko noticed that the body that fell useless to the ground was no longer scary beyond all reason. However, in it's place, another form stood. A form of a man with a tormented expression upon his wrinkled face. Glowing yellow eyes and rotten teeth showed from his grotesque face and he spoke in a dry rasp of a voice.

"Charlie was a mere body I used to get close to your 'scientific' institutions so I could carry out my plan." The creature said. "My name is Krakaahm Tresvious III, cleric of the Eliminian order in the year five hundred forty seven after the passing of our lady and savior."

"…Impossible!" Erk gasped as he picked himself and his companions from the floor. "Five hundred years after the scouring…that makes you five hundred years old!"

"Fascinating isn't it Mage General?" Krakaahm asked. "I used my magic to seal myself away in an Ostian cave. A year ago when this man came exploring with his wife, he inadvertently released my seal. I saw his immense knowledge for the blasphemous art of science and took my opportunity!"

"What do you mean?" Kiyoko asked.

"I went to him, possessed him." Krakaahm rasped. "Killed his wife and used magic to turn Khathlati into the deadliest of all weapons!"

"You…monster." Rath gasped.

"Hahahaha!" Krakaahm continued. "And afterwards, I helped the spread of Khathlati, magically enhanced not to attack me, and carried vial after vial into other lands, keeping the plague alive."

"So…that's how the disease spread!" Erk asked unbelievingly.

"Yes you fool!" Krakaahm said. "Khathlati was so unstable after it's magical enhancement, that it could barely sustain itself long enough to be transferred by a mere sneeze. So I kept the virus alive, using my magic to deliver the plague upon your land. I was quite pleased with the results."

Kiyoko, Erk and Rath stared at the monster in front of them, paralyzed by fear.

"But now my darlings." Krakaahm said. "Time for you to die slowly…painfully." Krakaahm smiled wickedly as dark energy began to gather at his fingertips. Kiyoko, Erk and Rath spread out and drew their weapons, but they knew it was futile.

Krakaahm didn't hold back. Bolts of black lightning lanced out striking the walls and striking all three of the unfortunate fighters. The blast knocked the wind out of all three of them, and the twisted cleric laughed. He drew a wicked knife and flung it, striking Erk in the shoulder.

Erk gasped in pain and crumpled, knowing that he was going to die soon. His thoughts turned to his loving wife and he smiled.

"I'm coming Priscilla…" He mumbled as Krakaahm readied to fatal blow while Kiyoko and Rath watched helplessly, too weak to stop him.

Just at the last moment, the door blew open and a auburn haired assassin burst in, lighting a piece of metal with a small piece of burning wood. The result was a blinding flash that hurt Kiyoko's eyes. When she cleared it, she found Audrey standing there with her eyes closed and Krakaahm holding his head in pain. She struggled to her feet and approached her friend.

"You okay?" Audrey asked.

Kiyoko nodded weakly and Audrey tossed her an elixir. Drinking it down, Kiyoko felt her strength return. She looked back at her friend. "Take Erk, bring him to the surface, he needs attention."

"I can't carry him." Audrey said.

"Then have Rath help." Kiyoko said.

"What about you?" Rath asked limping over.

"I'll be fine…I have an old score to settle." Kiyoko said.

"…Be careful." Audrey said.

"I will." Kiyoko assured her and the two girls embraced. Audrey, with the help of Rath, then supported Erk out of the room. Kiyoko once again turned towards the dark cleric who was now rubbing his eyes out.

"That was a fun trick." Krakaahm said. "No matter, they can go, they will die sooner or later. Now for you my darling."

Kiyoko stood her ground. "You tricked me, you used me, and you've hurt the ones I love." She snarled. "I intend to take your life."

"Haha, well." Krakaahm said. "This should be interesting."

The twisted man then without warning sent more lightning towards the young assassin. Kiyoko used all of her speed and reflexes to dodge the blow. Throwing herself against the wall, Kiyoko took out her throwing knives and flung them wildly at Krakaahm.

The cleric laughed as he dodged with ease. Kiyoko was surprised at his speed. Taking a deep breath, she took out another dagger and threw herself away as more lightning bolts slammed into the wall. Krakaahm was having fun playing with Kiyoko, sending bolts just slightly off target. It took, a while before she figured out that the dark cleric was tiring her out before finish her.

'He's just playing with me.' She thought hopelessly as she forced her aching muscles to dodge more bolts.

Kiyoko kept up as long as she could, but eventually she got tired. Her movements slacked, and she got hit. Soon, the girl crumpled to the ground, drained from exhaustion and the lightning bolts. Krakaahm laughed and walked up to her with a dagger in hand.

"I am going to have fun carving you up." He said wickedly as he raised his dagger.

Kiyoko waited for the killing blow, visioning her grandmother in her head. Her vision was suddenly stopped by a loud cry from behind the looming figure of the dark cleric.

"AUREOLA!" the voice cried. Krakaahm gasped in horror as the divine light of St. Elimine slammed into him.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He cried hideously as he melted under the pure light. Kiyoko looked up long enough to see a man in his late twenties holding a book and arm out.

"Charlie?" Kiyoko asked nerviously after the commotion died away. The man smiled and limped up to her.

"Hey there." He said, his voice was soft and welcoming compared to the dry rasp of the demented cleric. "Hang on a sec."

Kiyoko watched as the real Charlie took out a ornate stave and held it above her. Moments later, Kiyoko saw a blue light and felt strength flow into her body again.

"Uhh…thanks." She said. Kiyoko sat up and oriented herself. She looked back at the scientist and scratched her head. "I don't get it."

"What's not to get?" Charlie asked.

"You're a scientist…how come you know healing and light magic?" Kiyoko asked.

"I'm a scientist in a sense." Charlie said. "But I believed that science and religion could be fused into one." The man chuckled. "Needless to say I was mocked at both scientific conventions and religious gatherings."

Kiyoko laughed in spite of herself. "So…now what?"

"Now, you get out of here. I'm staying down here." Charlie said.

"What? Why?" Kiyoko asked.

"Look, nobody's gonna believe this story." Charlie explained. "And all this needs to be destroyed." Charlie pointed to the shelves of Khathlati. "I have enough volatile chemicals here to blow the place to bits, so I'm staying down here and taking my 'legacy' with me. Besides, it's die here, or on the gallows. I'd prefer doing some good before I go."

Kiyoko looked at him. "But…I saw it! I'll vouch for you. The military can then come in an blow the place up without much effort or loss of life."

Charlie shook his head again. "I don't want to risk it. And I don't want to put you at risk because of me." Charlie looked at Kiyoko who tried to avoid his gaze. "I don't know what happened…but I know you went through a lot because I let myself be possessed. I don't want you to get involved anymore."

Kiyoko looked back at him. "No, I'm also to blame here. If you die down here, then I'm going with you."

"Don't be stupid." Charlie warned. "You have so much to live for."

Kiyoko shook her head. "I'm the leader of the assassin group that caused so much death and misery. When I go out, I'm gonna go to prison anyways. I can't stay cooped up. Better to go to hell than be locked up somewhere worse than hell."

"…" Charlie found himself speechless.

"Now, where are those chemicals?" Kiyoko asked.

Charlie stared for a second and then dumbly walked over to a bookshelf and pulled a book out. The shelf rotated to reveal drums of oils, gasses and gunpowder.

"This'll do." Kiyoko said pleasantly and started gathering the oils and gunpowder. Charlie stood dumbfounded for a sec before pitching in as well. The duo moved the explosive material and placed them in strategic locations around the storage vault. Then, taking the gas barrels, Charlie punched dozens of holes into them and let the volatile gasses permeate the vault. Within the hour, the two were done. All they needed to do was light the match. Going to the center, Charlie held up the flint.

"When I strike this, the entire place will blow." He said grimly. "Go up now… you don't need to die today."

Kiyoko shook her head. "No…I won't live my life in a prison."

Seeing that Kiyoko refuses to change her stance, Charlie sadly shook his head. "You're so young."

Kiyoko nodded. "I'll see you in hell?" She asked.

Charlie laughed. "Nah, you'll go to heaven, I'm going to hell."

Kiyoko smiled. "Last time I checked, heaven didn't accept murderers."

Charlie smiled and gave in. "Fine, then it's you and I and the banks of the River Styx." He then held Kiyoko and struck the flint.

Audrey and Rath watched anxiously for any sign of their comrade. They had safely gotten Erk out and were now watching the house with a furious intensity. Suddenly, the entire field in front of them became a fiery pit of hell as the building exploded, spewing flaming material and fuel onto the field. Audrey and Rath stared at the blazing inferno along with the members of the Ostian militia posted there. Then, something snapped inside Audrey and she regained her senses.

"Quick! Put out the fires!" She ordered.

The militia immediately went to work dumping water and sand onto the blaze, trying to contain it. An hour later, the flames subsided, and Audrey and Rath dug through the smoking wreckage, hoping to find a sign of their friend.

By nightfall, they uncovered fragments of charred human bones, and amazingly two mismatched hands entwined tightly. Sobbing, Audrey fell into Rath and cried into his chest, mourning over her lost friends.

By morning, everyone knew the heroic story of Kiyoko, a felon who saved the world. Hector, Patric and Serra emerged from the chapel.

"It's over…" He announced.

"We won." Serra said.

"Yes." Hector agreed, but he looked into the courtyard at his daughter and Roy, standing by the tiny memorial to her mother and his parents. "But at what cost?"

Patric shook his head. "Humanity came close to extinction. We lost sight of our own frailty and began to play God."

"In a way, Charlie was right…we do need guidance." Serra said.

"And I will find guidance for us." Hector said. "Before Charlie became evil, he believed that science and religion could become one and complement each other. I intend to see if it could be done."

Patric and Serra nodded their mute agreements as the watched the two children lay down flowers at the memorials. Above them, a robin flew overhead, signaling the beginning of spring. One year has passed since Khathlati first appeared. And now, it was the beginning of a new era, an era of healing.

* * *

Charlie: Cheesy ending, I know. Well, that's it for Khathlati strain. Anybody shocked at some of the happenings? Well, leave a review and tell me what you think. I'll get the epilogue up soon that'll wrap up some of the loose ends. Thanks for sticking with me everyone! 


	12. Epilogue: Peace in Harmony

Charlie: Yo, I just wanted to get this out of my hair. I'm finally finishing a non-one shot! YAY! Okay, before we start though, let me clear up a misconception. Charlie/Kiyoko is NOT a pairing. The hugging scene at the end, in retrospect, probably seemed weird to you guys. I come from a "huggy" if you can call it, family. I hug just about anyone without thinking. Just ask my friends, (PMOHWinters, Link015, Miharu-San) I drive them crazy with my constant "huggles." It seemed natural to me for my character to hug the closest person to him the minute before he dies in a fiery explosion, but that's just me. Secondly, Kiyoko is 17/18 years old. Charlie is in his late twenties/early thirties. That's pedophile. It's also statutory rape in California if that relationship actually went on. So, sorry about it, I realize that it must've been a weird sudden pairing, but it's not. Kiyoko would've just rather died than as Erk said "Spend long time in prison, but feeling better about herself while doing time." Anyways, here's the epilogue. This chapter is best read while listing to either the Theme from Schindler's List, or Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan. Both songs may be downloaded from my website: wishusluck . net. Click on the tab that goes to content and right click and save.

Erk: Anyways, on with the chapter! And he doesn't own FE.

Charlie: Nope.

Erk: And he also li-

Charlie: Okay, shut up now Erk.

* * *

**_Epilogue: Peace in Harmony_**

After the death of Krakaahm and the destruction of all known strains of Khathlati in existence, Lycia finally began to heal. Khathlati ran its course and died out, having run out of hosts. A month after the deaths, Hector lifted the quarantines. Lycia entered a stage of restoration; however that did not mean everything was over.

Audrey Kennedy, although a Lycian hero now, stood trial for her crimes soon after the incident and was sentenced to a rather short prison term of two years. She calmly accepted her sentence and went to jail peacefully and at ease with her mind. Before she went in, Rath visited her. During their escape from Charlie's basement, the two had grown somewhat closer. He promised to see her out. Audrey said nothing, hugged him and went peacefully into her cell.

Rath and Erk appealed to the Ostian council regarding the fate of Charlie. They argued vehemently for his good name to be restored. Sadly, Erk died a two weeks later from an infection. His last wish was for the truth to be known. Rath carried out his wish and by the time the quarantine was lifted, Hector restored Charlie's name.

After the lift of the quarantine, Hector sent troops into the previously infected territories. Lead by General Marcus, Sir Kent, Sir Sain, Sir Lowen, and Sir Harken of the Pherae Knights, all of whom escaped the scourge of the plague by order of Eliwood to look after his son, the team went deep into southern territories. Most survivors were heartened to see these knights and cheered them as they went about repairing cities and burying the dead.

Some villages however, had other thoughts. Many survivors of Khathlati had permanent brain damage. Upon arriving at one seemingly deserted village, the entire army was ambushed and captured by the white-eyed deranged locals. Being reduced to mere savages, the locals killed and ate Marcus, before the knights retaliated and overcame the cannibals. Marcus' remains were sent home in a wooden coffin.

As the group went further into southern lands, Guy and Rath, who had volunteered for the mission late, joined them. Accepting the reinforcements gratefully, Kent, the new leader of the group after the untimely death of the Late General Marcus, pushed the group southeast with fervor.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck again. Near Tania, a deranged wyvern suddenly attacked Sir Lowen of Pherae. By the time the rest of the knights killed the mad beast, it had already bitten the head off the unfortunate Sir Lowen. He soon followed his general and mentor home in another wooden box.

Near the end of the mission, Sir Kent succumbed to stress and made a couple of bad decisions; first ordering an innocent city to be burned down due to a suspicious rumor and secondly ordering his men into a second city that still reported minor signs of Khathlati. His actions caused Guy to contract a mild form of the disease. Without warning, the swordmaster became crazy as a beast and turned his sword upon his comrades. After nearly killing his commander, Guy was killed by a single arrow in his back by Rath. He too was sent back to Ostia in a wooden box.

Three months and dozens of deaths later, the group reemerged, having thoroughly purged the southern lands of Khathlati at a great mental and physical price. Upon returning, Sain resigned his commission and became a independent knight. Kent turned himself in and served a minor sentence for his actions. He then moved to Ilia and promptly proposed to his longtime love, Fiora, who tearfully accepted and the two were married in a small private ceremony. Harken returned to his wife Isadora and settled down.

Rath stuck around Ostia, helping out wherever he could. Karel, who had recovered from his stomach ailment, soon joined him. After Audrey was released early for good behavior a mere four months into her two-year sentence. She joined Rath and Karel and grew even closer to the Nomad. Their relationship soon blossomed.

Chris and May discovered the anti-bacterial properties of the growth that they had inadvertently created. After months of testing and refining, they discovered a substance that was derived from the moldy growth they first had. After confirming the effectiveness of it, they patented it and named it Penicillin, after May's mother Penni. During the months they spent deriving Penicillin, their attraction for each other grew. They wed soon after Penicillin went public.

A full ten months after the death of Krakaahm, the infected territories finally recovered and rebuilt much of what was destroyed. Hector called together the surviving Marquesses and Marchionesses for a final meeting in Ostia. During this meeting, Hector disbanded the Lycian League, forming the Lycian Parliament. He installed Patric Pan as the first Prime Minister of Lycia at the head of the Parliament and formed a constitutional monarchy. The Marquesses and Marchionesses in effect became figureheads to the real power, though they still had power over their own precincts.. Parliamentary seats were chosen by a popular election, with one seat from each major precinct (Ostia, Pherae, Caelin, Laus, Ryerde, Worde, Thria, Tuscana, Tania, Khathelet, Araphen, Badon, and Santurez)

Hector called for a revision to the scientific charters of Lycia, claiming that in order to prevent another catastrophe such as Khathlati, science and religion must work together and harmonize. His speech was received solemnly from most of the leaders present, as well as the Archbishop of the Holy Church of St. Elimine and the Lycian Minister of Science.

Then, as the first unanimous vote ever in the history of Lycia, all the Marquesses and Marchionesses agreed to instate Roy as the new Marquess of Pherae, Kathryn Sith as the new Marchioness of Khathelet, and Hitomi Sith as the new Marchioness of Araphen in place of these cities' dead leaders. Chris was named the successor to the heirless, ailing Marquess Ryerde and Lilina the Crown Princess of Ostia.

Bern was less fortunate than Lycia. It's armies were in tatters after Khathlati ripped through them like a hot knife through butter. They pleaded with the new Prime Minister of Lycia for relief. Patric acted quickly, and sent over dozens of shipments of Penicillin. Slowly the country began to regain itself.

The funeral for all who died trying to stop the destruction of humanity took place nearly a year after the end of the incident. A long funeral procession that went from Ryerde, to Ostia, and finally to Khathelet took place over a period of a few weeks. The meager remains of Kiyoko and Charlie were salvaged from the explosion wreckage and placed into individual caskets. Erk received blessings from the Archbishop of Etruria and was buried in the Royal Palace at Etruria. The dead soldiers along with the remains of Guy, Marcus and Lowen were placed into ornate caskets and joined the funeral procession. The memorial to Dr. Jessica H. Nam was relocated to Khathelet as she, along with the bodies of Kiyoko, Charlie, Guy, Lowen, and Marcus were buried together in the courtyard of the newly christened Jessica H. Nam Biotechnical Institute in Khathelet.

Roy soon ascended the throne of Pherae at the age of 18. He ruled with the kindness and fairness of his parents. He and Lilina soon wed, joining the precincts of Ostia/Caelin and Pherae forever. During this time, the first Lycian elections took place with much success.

Kathryn Sith soon ascended the throne of Khathelet. She faced an enormous task ahead of her as she took control of the disillusioned city. Her younger sister stood by her for another year before taking the throne of Araphen.

International relations between Etruria and Lycia continued to deteriorate as the conservative leaders of Etruria protested the fusion of the Church of Elimine with science. Soon after Hitomi Sith ascended the throne of Araphen, war broke out between the two countries. Prime Minister Patric lead Lycia calmly through the period of turmoil and emerged victorious against the Etrurians. However, Lord Hector of Ostia was sadly killed in action. He was buried alongside his wife in Castle Ostia. Lilina took up where her father left off and continued to push his politics, while mothering her infant she had with Roy.

Chris soon ascended the throne of Ryerde with the passing of the late Marquess. His wife helped him be a sensible leader, bringing a period of great prosperity to Ryerde.

Audrey settled down in Khathelet, where she could be close to her childhood friend. She shared a tearful goodbye with her new love Rath as he left for the plains. He promised to return to her one day, when his destiny was fulfilled. Audrey nodded and promised to wait for him forever. Months later, she bore her first child by him, a beautiful daughter. When she left the hospital with her new bundle of joy, she was shocked and delighted to see Rath leaning against a tree waiting for her. She and Sacae's new Ambassador to Lycia soon married.

By the end of Patric's four-year term as the Prime Minister of Lycia, the country had fully bounced back from the disastrous effects of Khathlati. As he stepped down from his seat, refusing to run for a second term, Patric reminded the Lycians that they must continue working in harmony with each other in order to provide for a brighter future.

Patric Pan died three years later of a heart failure at the age of 36. A statue of him was erected in the Parliamentary building in Ostia. At the base, three words were etched in gold.

**_Imbellis in Concordia_**

That phrase, meaning peace in harmony in the ancient language, became the national mantra of Lycia.

It was then when everyone knew that Khathlati was truly dead.

* * *

Charlie: Okay, it's over. Umm, yeah… that was kinda like the character ending in the real game, but slightly different. You got your more deaths. Amazingly, only one person dies naturally in this fic. So, thanks everyone who read and reviewed. I hope you enjoyed reading this as I enjoyed writing it. I don't think I'll be doing a sequel unless you guys want me to do one. But if I actually do one, it's gonna be like 200 years in the future since…well, everyone's dead or retired. 


End file.
